New Bonds
by Himewolf398
Summary: No one knows where these monsters came from or what they are so the hunters were content with just killing them off. However, when Caira gets separated from her team, she meets an injured Goliath who is oddly non-hostile towards her and may have evolved in a new way. What secrets are behind this mysterious anomaly of a beast? Special thanks to Death Gun Vince for the story title!
1. Take off

Hello everyone and welcome to my brand new Evolve story! I really hope you guys enjoy it and please feel free to give any constructive criticism. Just so you know, I've never played the game before but I have seen playthroughs on youtube so I sort of get it. However, I'm not very good at science. It's actually my worst subject but I'll do my best. Also, I'm not too clear on the personalities of the hunters so they may be ooc in this story. Again, if a character is ooc then please feel free to let me know. With all that being said, enjoy chapter one!

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Several trees crashed to the ground and a large creature at least twenty feet tall with a large and thickly muscled body stampeded through the environment. The light from the full moon glossed over his jet black and ruby red scales and plates. Tonight was the perfect night to hunt. The Stage-One Goliath took a deep breath and pinpointed the whereabouts of his prey by their scents. Saliva escaped the confines of his mouth and cascaded down his mandibles in anticipation of a potential feast. This Goliath wasn't hunting a pack of Trapjaws or any other kind of wildlife. No, he was hunting humans. He slowed his pace after awhile and slowly descended until he was stalking across the ground on all fours. This beast was no stranger to hunting humans. In fact, he had successfully devoured several of them and escaped before their hunters could arrive. He evaded the hunters that were on his trail yesterday by purposefully making tracks in one direction and sneaking off the opposite way.

The Goliath made sure not to startle the birds and lightly moved across the ground so he didn't make tracks. Krakens were incredibly lucky that they could glide. He could be spotted easily during the day and in snowy terrain but caves were his home, the night was his domain and fire was his affinity. He climbed up a cliff and his crimson red eyes scanned the colonists below him. There were five in total. His stomach growled and he licked his fangs but made no move to attack just yet. If there was one thing the Goliath learned from watching Wraiths, it was patience. His tail swayed slowly to temper his anxiousness as he continued to wait. Then he lowered his body even more into a crouch. It was almost time. There weren't any hunters around from what he could see and there were no Tyrants, Megamouths, or any other creatures around that would pose a problem either. Now! The Goliath made a powerful leap into the air and landed on the ground next to the colonists with a strong Leap Smash.

The colonists screamed as the beast seemed to appear out of nowhere. He grabbed a couple of them and immediately tore into them. Warm blood coated his jaws and splattered on the cold ground. His large fangs ripped the flesh off their bones and swallowed the chunks whole. He dropped the dead bodies and chased after the runners with delight. He wished he could roar his happiness as he let out a stream of fire at them. He devoured the fried corpses and spotted one last human covered in something long and white. What was that? Leaves? Feathers? The Goliath shook his head. It doesn't matter. What matters now is maybe taking the human back to his cave as a snack before daylight. The colonist ran in another direction and the fire beast gleefully chased after him but as much as he'd love to prolong this game, he couldn't. Time was short when hunting humans.

As a Stage-One Goliath, he couldn't risk getting spotted by those human hunters. He had seen what they could do and how successful they were at killing his kind. With that thought out the way, he pounced on the human after they had strayed quite far away. Without hesitation, he ripped into his prize. Then he paused after a few minutes of eating and his head suddenly started to throb in pain. What was this? The Goliath snarled as the pain started to spread down his body to the tip of his spiked tail. It washed over him like a waterfall. Waves of information flooded his brain like a tsunami and his vision started to blur.

' _ **Too..much!**_ ' Those two were the only words that he could process as loads of knowledge continued their onslaught alongside flashes of memories. They weren't even his! He stood up and ran straight into a tree. He banged his head against it to make the pain go away but that only made it worse. He collapsed on the ground and whimpered. Where was all this coming from? Why him? Suddenly, hostile scents invaded his nose. There were a pack of Trapjaws nearby but the Goliath was in too much pain to even look at them, let alone defend himself. He closed his eyes and at this point he hoped his death would be made quick. He rolled over to his side and darkness consumed him in its gentle embrace.

' _I'm gonna give that Kraken a face full of napalm for this!_ ' Caira thought as she traversed the hostile territory while occasionally glancing at her digital mini-map. She got separated from the rest of her team after their encounter with a Stage-Two Kraken and she was currently making her way back by following the red, green, and yellow dots on her mini-map. The biggest problem right now was that she only had three napalm and two healing grenades left in her launcher and with each relatively quiet minute that she spent walking, her paranoia increased slightly. Once she forced her way through some large bushes, she came across a terrible sight. A small pack of Trapjaws were tearing into a weakened Stage-One Goliath and it didn't look like it was even trying to fight back. Was it dead then?

Now Caira was a bit conflicted. She could use the rest of her napalm grenades to get rid of the Trapjaws but if that Goliath was still alive then that meant she'd be an easy target and would only be able to use her acceleration field to get away. On the other hand, she could just leave and continue on to reunite with her team but with how weak the Goliath was-if it was even alive-she might be able to take it back to the ship and get so much biological data on it! Caira sighed and with her dangerous-and probably stupid-decision made, she aimed her grenade launcher and shot one of her napalm grenades at them. The Trapjaws panicked as the flames tore through their flesh. She shot the last two and the pack dropped dead on the ground. As soon as the flames died down, Caira rushed over to the badly injured Goliath and looked over his wounds. It was a savage-skinned one and the medic cursed her luck. He was still breathing, though it was pretty weak and his injuries were still bleeding.

The darkness slowly started to fade away as one of the Goliath's eyes weakly opened. Pain wracked his body from both the leftover ache in his head and the bites from the Trapjaws. Once his blurry vision cleared, he instantly felt as if he was seeing everything for the very first time again but with a clarity he never knew was possible. Physically, he felt stronger than before despite being injured and still in pain. Then, an unfamiliar scent entered his nose. It was a fresh and fruity smell that was oddly calming. He slowly lifted his head a little to see where the nice and pleasant scent was coming from. A crimson red eye locked on to a human female with long black hair looking over his wounds. He poured what very little strength he managed to recover into his arms and lifted his upper body.

Caira jumped back as she watched the Goliath move. She almost aimed her launcher at him until she remembered that it was out of napalm grenades. He turned his head to her and just... _stared_.

' _That's..odd._ ' Caira thought. Why wasn't it attacking her or at least trying to? He was just warily watching her watch him. The strength suddenly left his body and the large beast collapsed back on his side. As soon as Caira moved closer, he growled at her and the medic put her launcher down. "Easy there big guy. It's okay. I'm not gonna hurt you."

Somehow the Goliath understood what she said and stopped his growling. The soft and gentle tone of her voice helped as well. It wasn't like he had any strength left to resist anyway. He whined when he felt more pain from her hands moving too close to his wounds. Caira wasn't sure how to help him. Her healing grenades were modified to have no effect on his kind and she knew little to nothing about the physiology of a Goliath other than that they seem to be all male thanks to the lack of workable subjects. All she could do currently was let him rest and hope he won't die from his injuries. There had to be _something_ she could do though. She thought for a moment and found her answer. It wasn't much and it probably wouldn't help at all but it was something.

Both the Goliath's eyes were open now and they widened when he felt something glide across the black and red scales and plates of his head and large neck with a gentleness that was equal to a feather. This was something he had _never_ felt before! So much tension rocketed out of his body. His eyes slowly closed and he purred at the contact. Caira noticed the docile attitude the fire beast showed towards her and despite him being weak right now it still surprised her. He was definitely the perfect specimen for research! She continued to pet him and her eyes widened when she saw his wounds let out some steam as they started to close. This was very strange. She never saw a Goliath, Kraken, or Wraith heal before, let alone at such a somewhat fast rate!

The Goliath tensed slightly when he heard her heartbeat accelerate. What's happening? He opened both eyes again and looked at her. She was sitting down this time now and was facing him with one of her limbs moving down his head and neck with a motion that continued to repeat itself. Why was she still here anyway? She also didn't attack him which was something he knew the other hunters wouldn't hesitate to do. Why was she here by herself? Was she lost? The Goliath turned his attention to the sky. Thankfully it was still dark. He had a much easier time blending in despite half of his scales and plates being red. However, this human's jacket was white which was pretty easy for a predator to spot. Wait... _jacket_? The savage-skinned monster had never heard of that word before yet somehow..he knew what it meant and recognized how it looked.

The fire beast growled as a dull throb echoed in his brain and new words with pictures that he never heard of or have seen flashed in his mind. Pants, shoes, and clothes were those words that again, he knew the meaning of them and what they looked like. His eyes widened again as they made contact with the medic. _White jacket, blue shirt underneath, navy blue jeans, black boots, brown fingerless gloves, brown bag, brown cap, and necklace_. Where were all these words coming from? The Goliath swiftly shut his eyes and whined much louder than before. His wounds paused in their healing from the stress that suddenly appeared and his panicked movements threatened to reopen them; maybe even make them worse.

Caira was taken aback by what she was seeing. When the Goliath whined again she stopped petting him. Then she saw him look at her and he suddenly started to panic. What was wrong? Caira cursed her lack of knowledge on him but right now she needed to calm him down before his wounds grow worse. She'd be damned if she let a non-hostile Goliath die!

"Hey calm down. Everything's alright, just calm down. Relax." Caira said softly as her slender fingers caressed the warm scales on his head. She smiled once she saw him start to calm down. Her eyes widened again when she felt him nuzzle into her hand. The Goliath relaxed his body and his wounds resumed their healing process but he would need to eat for them to heal faster. The medic's touch was very comforting to him though another question popped into his head. What reason could this human have to make her remain here? Surely she should know how dangerous it was to be out here at night. It was even dangerous for him. He wasn't strong enough to take on any creature like a Tyrant by himself in his current state. She saw that he was easy pickings for a pack of Trapjaws a while ago. Speaking of Trapjaws, the Goliath finally noticed their corpses littered around them. Did she kill them? Great, now he was indebted to her for saving his life though that wasn't really a bad thing.

The Goliath learned a long time ago that humans were stronger than they looked. What was strange to the fire beast was that he didn't feel the need or urge to kill her. He could if he wanted to but that was the thing that also bothered him. He _didn't_ want to. He mentally changed the subject. He didn't know how to repay her until he noticed the temperature drop even more and a slight shiver came from her. Was she cold? He knew what to do now as he often did it in the winter to keep warm anyway. Using what strength he managed to conserve, he lifted his entire body and moved closer to her. Caira was caught off guard when the Goliath started to move. The thought of running briefly came across her mind but she remained still.

' _No, he didn't show any hostility towards me._ ' Caira thought as the Stage-One creature moved even closer. He softly growled when certain movements pulled at his wounds. Then he curled his body around her from behind her back like a cat and laid down. His long and heavy tail rested on her lap carefully so the spikes didn't touch her. The medic watched him start to slightly glow red. She felt heat start to radiate off his body and absorb into hers like her own personal heater. Realization washed over her. He was keeping her warm and sheltering her from the cool wind with his huge body. This was officially the weirdest night she had ever had. Caira was hesitant to lean against him since he was still injured but he nudged her into him. She smiled and petted his head again.

"You know, your glowing will act as a beacon big guy." Caira said and her answer from said 'big guy' was a snort. As if he wasn't the least bit concerned about drawing unwanted attention. At this point, the Goliath just wanted to sleep while his wounds finished healing and they were almost done. Caira looked at her mini-map and saw Abe's, Parnell's and Cabot's beacons move closer to her position. She briefly wondered if she could maybe convince them to spare this Goliath for research. _Maybe_ being the key word here. There was also a good chance they would ignore her and kill him. The medic looked at the the sleeping Goliath but his eyes shot open and his head snapped up.

' _ **More humans coming this way!**_ ' The Goliath thought and the red glow faded. This wasn't good. If there were humans this far out then they were most likely hunters. He wasn't strong enough to fight them even after he felt that unknown power boost earlier and he doubted that those hunters were as friendly as this one he was currently cuddled up with. He ignored the very slight protests from his wounds and stood up on his two legs. Caira stood up as well and patted his hand. He took a deep breath to figure out how far away they were by scent and started to back away a little. The Goliath made eye contact with Caira one last time before he leaped away.

"Wait!" Caira shouted but he ignored her and continued his retreat to who knows where. She sighed and put away her grenade launcher. It was probably better this way. She couldn't let her comrades kill him. Then Parnell, Abe, and Cabot appeared.

"Are you alright Caira?" Parnell asked and the medic nodded.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Caira said. The assault could tell something was bothering her but decided not to press further. "I need to head back and reload my launcher."

"Alright, we'll continue our search for the Kraken later." Cabot said. Caira nodded again and looked back to where the Goliath ran off. Then she followed her team back to the Laurie Anne. In the shadows, The Goliath watched the hunters leave and he was once again indebted to that human that was called Caira. She had kept him a secret. The sun was starting to rise and right now he needed to sleep some more. He dropped down on all fours and returned to his cave that was deeply shrouded in thick foliage. It was more dangerous being out during the day than it was at night since humans would be able to see him much more easily. He could still listen out for danger while asleep but that didn't mean he was safe. After all, there were hunters out during the day too. Now that he thought about it, he should probably sleep at night instead.

The Goliath shook his head and laid down in the very back of his cave. Recovery was his top _priority_ at the moment. He growled as that word popped up without warning. Before he could fall asleep, his hearing picked up a strange sound. Like static and he lifted his head up. He recognized that sound. It was the sound Krakens make when they're gliding. Their wings electrify the air to keep them hovering above ground. He laid his head back down. Whatever that Kraken was doing didn't concern him. He closed his eyes and fell asleep.

* * *

 _"What are you people doing?! I didn't volunteer for this shit!" A lean blonde haired man shouted. He was tightly strapped to a medical table in a big laboratory. He was surrounded by four men and three women. One of those men was wearing a black suit while everyone else wore lab coats._

 _"You volunteered to help us create and perfect the super soldier program." The brown haired man in the suit said._

 _"Through ethical research! Not become a fucking lab rat!" The man in the suit sighed._

 _"You'll feel differently after you've received such great power. In fact, you'll graciously thank me."_

 _"You fucking bastard! You'll pay for this!" The blonde haired man started struggling under his restraints. "I'll kill you! I'll kill all of you!"_

* * *

The Stage-One Goliath awoke with shock. His red eyes scanned his surroundings but he sensed no danger within or around his cave. He was curled up with one arm crossed over the other and his tail resting at his side. He took a few moments to steady his breathing and hot black smoke eased out his nostrils with a smoothness similar to steam. What the fuck was that? It was such an unusual dream. Humans-who he never saw before-were turning on one of their own. The sun was still burning brightly outside and the Goliath let out a yawn. He stretched and was relieved to find that his wounds were fully healed. He shook his head and decided to go find some _wildlife_ to eat. That was yet another word he never heard but somehow knew. He moved outside his cave and started to run.

The savage-skinned creature leaped onto a cliff and sniffed the air. There were a few mammoth birds around. It wouldn't be anywhere near enough to fill his large stomach but it would have to do for now. He was about to perform a Leap Smash on them when some faint noises gave him pause. The fire beast turned his attention in the direction where the sounds came from and noticed a few fireballs rain down from the sky. What the hell was that? Curiosity got the better of him and he leaped in that direction. Once he was close enough, he saw a Kraken shoot a lightning strike at something. The Goliath climbed up another cliff and once he reach the top, he saw that it was fighting a group of hunters. Hopefully this Kraken won't eat the corpses. His eyes glanced over the biggest threat of the group. The big human in red shooting flames at the Kraken.

' ** _He uses fire like me._** ' The Goliath thought as he continued to watch them. The next human was in yellow with a cap and something sticking out of his mouth. The third one wore a hat and was dressed in green. This human had brown fur on his face. Mustache was the word that popped up and the Goliath shook his head. Then he noticed the fourth human and his eyes widened. It was that Caira human that saved his life! Now another thought crossed his mind.

' ** _Should I help?_** '

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Annnnd that's the end of chapter one! Let me know what you think and I'll see you next time! :)


	2. Say My Name

Oh how happy I am for all the support you guys have shown me for this story! Virtual hugs for everyone! :) Anyway, here's chapter two for your reading pleasure! Also, every title of the chapters in this story are named after songs I have but not all the songs relate to the chapter. I'll let you know the ones that do.

Chapter one's title is from the song **Take off by 2pm**.

This chapter's title is from the song **Say My Name by Destiny's Child**.

The lyrics to both these songs have nothing to do with the chapters but the titles just fit.

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The Goliath felt some kind of emotion he hadn't felt before. Rage and joy when hunting were the only one's for as long as he could remember. Then his change happened and things started to get a lot more.. _complicated_. There goes another unfamiliar word that he somehow knew. These humans were hunters right? They could handle this without his help. He was about to walk away until he saw the Kraken swat Caira away with his tail and she landed on the ground with a loud thud. Her weapon slid a few feet away from her and Abe rushed over, only to be pushed away by the Kraken's Vortex. The Goliath's eyes focused on the guy in red and saw a Lightning Strike make a direct hit on him. The strange human in yellow was dodging the Banshee Mines and the fire beast turned his attention back to the medic. Out the corner of his eye, he saw the Kraken knock the yellow human into a wall and the winged-beast's eyes made contact with Caira. The Goliath needed to make a decision and fast. He dug his claws into the cliff and prepared himself to pounce.

Caira cursed when she made eye contact with the Kraken. Abe was too far away to get to her before the Kraken would make his move. Hyde was still recovering from that strong lightning strike and Hank was practically surrounded by the banshee mines. The Kraken dropped down to all fours and Caira glanced over to her grenade launcher that was resting several feet away. Then just as the Kraken lunged at her...

It was tackled by a big black and red creature.

It was smaller than the lightning beast but still very large compared to her. They crashed to the ground and Caira finally recognized the smaller monster. It was the same savage skinned Goliath that she rescued last night! At least she hoped it was. Abe finally made it over to her and handed her the grenade launcher. Hank helped up Hyde and they regrouped.

"What the hell just happened?" Abe asked and the hunters watched as the Goliath and Kraken fought. Both monsters equally exchanged claw swipes and bites as they rolled across the ground; tearing down small trees and creating large clouds of dirt in the process. The Goliath let out a Fire Breath but the Kraken dodged it and knocked him into a wall. He quickly picked himself up and took a few seconds to study his enemy. The Kraken was injured pretty badly but still outmatched him in regards to power. The fire beast snorted and roared. Let's see what's better. This Kraken's attack power or his level of endurance.

The Kraken attacked first this time. He swung his long claws but the Goliath blocked it with his forearm. He kicked him back and headbutted him into a tree. He charged towards him until the Kraken raised himself into the air and aimed a Lightning Strike at him. The Goliath leaped onto the wall and bounced off of it. He tackled the Kraken in midair before he could use the lightning strike. They crashed to the ground and the Goliath immediately started slashing at the Kraken with his claws. Blood and flesh flew everywhere as he continued his relentless onslaught. His opponent stopped moving and he dismounted the corpse. Even though the hunters weakened it for him, he managed to defeat the Stage-Two monster. He threw his head up and roared in victory; causing nearby birds to scatter away in fright.

Caira had never seen anything like that before. First, she was saved by a Goliath. Now, she saw him fight a weakened Kraken and win. As he roared, something in her mind told her that he was stronger than a normal Stage-One beast and didn't even evolve to do it. He's more dangerous than before and she hoped her comrades could see it too. Her eyes met the Goliath's and he just stared at her like last time. His eyes stopped glowing and Caira even noticed them soften. Did he recognize her then? She watched him take a cautious step towards her while still on all fours. His head and tail were lowered in what she recognized from last night as a non-threatening manner and she was about to walk towards him as well but a blast of fire shot past her and caused the Goliath to quickly jump aside to avoid it.

The Goliath glared at the human in red who had interfered. Did he really just attack him after he saved his sorry ass and his pack? The fire beast's eyes started glowing again as the rage began to build. The human in green threw something in the air and a bluish white dome surrounded all of them. The Goliath saw this thing before. There was no way he could run as long as it was up. The three hunters raced towards him and he roared again. If they wanted to play then he'll gladly play with them.

Caira couldn't help but just stand there and watch as the fight took place Hank was in the air shooting his Laser Cutter at the Goliath but the savage-skinned creature dodged it by running out the way on all fours. Hank followed him until the Goliath leaped onto a rock wall and bounced off it just like what he did with the Kraken. This time though, he moved faster than the hunter expected and backhanded the support straight to the ground in midair. Hyde and Abe were next but after seeing how fast this Goliath moved now, the latter was more cautious. The assault was just laughing as the monster dodged his flamethrower and he switched to his Minigun.

"Finally! A challenge!" Hyde shouted and Abe facepalmed. As if that Kraken they were fighting wasn't tough enough. The trapper dodged the Goliath's Fire Breath and winced. He could still feel how strong the heat of the flames were. Yeah, this was not a good idea. He watched the Goliath smack Hyde into a rock wall with his tail and made eye contact with him. Abe readied his shotgun. How could a Stage-One Goliath be this strong and this fast?

"Fucking great." Abe muttered sarcastically but noticed that Caira hadn't moved from her position. What the fuck was she doing? "Caira! Hyde and Hank could use some help!"

"O-Oh, right." Caira said as she snapped out of whatever trance she was in. She watched the assault and support get up and shot her healing grenades at them. She had to help her team, but she couldn't let them kill this Goliath either. The medic took a deep breath and used her jets to race over. ' _Another pretty stupid plan. I'm just on a roll.._ '

The Goliath decided to go after the human in green next since he was the one who set this dome. The familiar desire to kill him and all other humans started to run rampant in his blood and he ran towards the trapper on all fours. Then the fire beast's eyes widened when Caira jumped in the way and held her arms out.

"Stop!" Caira shouted and the Goliath immediately did what he was told. His claws on both his hands and feet raked against the ground as he skidded to a stop one foot away from the medic. Why the hell did she just do that? The other three looked just as flabbergasted as she did that he actually obeyed her. Caira knew now that this _was_ the same Goliath that she rescued and he even recognized her, though she was shocked that he listened to her.

The Goliath looked at her incredulously. Why did she tell him to stop? He was sure she saw her comrades attack him first, yet she took their side?! The fire beast narrowed his eyes and growled in annoyance. Maybe she wasn't so different from these other humans after all. The dome finally went down and the Goliath immediately leaped away.

"Oh god, not again." Caira said as the wings on her jetpack extended. The medic was about to take off after the Goliath until she was stopped by Abe.

"Where the hell are you going?!"

"Don't worry, I'll be back." Caira took after the savage-skinned creature and left Abe dumbfounded while Hyde and Hank walked over to the trapper.

"What the fuck just happened?" Hank said but Abe just shrugged.

Caira flew as fast as her jetpack could carry her after the fire beast, who was knocking down every tree he came across. This was basically the equivalent of a child throwing a tantrum and she couldn't help but giggle at that thought. Suddenly the Goliath slowed to a stop and Caira landed behind him. The Goliath turned around to face her and glared. What did this human want now? She chose to side with her pack even after knowing what happened so why did she follow him? He dropped down to all fours but was still a few heads taller than her. She looked up at him and they just stared at each other for a few seconds before the medic spoke up.

"What's wrong?" Caira asked. The Goliath snorted out a thick plume of black smoke as he looked away and his facial expression was barely there but Caira could somehow tell what it was. He was mad at her. The medic didn't even need to think about why but she was surprised that the Goliath was showing emotion despite it being a somewhat tamed version of rage. "I guess you're mad at me huh."

The Goliath turned his back to her and sat down like a dog. Of course he was mad at her! Her pack attacked him and he was simply defending himself! She saw it happen but decided to take their side! The fire beast slowly hung his head. Why did he feel this way all of a sudden? Why was what the medic did hurtful at all to him? He shouldn't even care in the first place. He could've just continued his attack and slice right through her and that other human but again he found himself unable to do it. She was protecting her pack but for some reason, he felt a little hurt and... _disappointed_? What the hell was that word? Whatever it was, it felt right. It fit how he was feeling right now but he didn't know why. The Goliath looked down at his clawed hands.

' _ **What's happening to me?**_ ' The Goliath thought and Caira moved closer to him. She patted his arm and he looked at her.

"I'm sorry I hurt your feelings big guy. I was trying to stop Abe too, not just you." Caira said and the Goliath stared at her. So, it wasn't just him that she told to stop? He felt a little better once she said that but he was also a little confused. Ever since he hatched from his egg, he always had to survive on his own. There was no pack for him to rely on for help and he had to learn things by observing or by figuring it out the hard way. The fire beast flinched as he remembered some of the injuries he had suffered. He didn't know why this human-Caira-brought this confusion out in him. He shook those thoughts out his head and decided to forgive her. If what she said was true then that meant she didn't want him to be hurt as well.

' ** _This hu-no, Caira is what she's called. What does she want from me?_** ' The Goliath thought. He was indebted to her and he paid her back. Now they should be going their separate ways. Those feelings of hurt he felt and the fact that she chased after him implied that something more was there. He was fine now and didn't need any help. She was still alive so what was wrong now? He scratched his head. Why was this was so hard to figure out?

Caira didn't know what was wrong with this Goliath now. He was staring at the ground again and she patted his arm once more The medic could tell he was going through something in his mind that confused him. Maybe she could get his mind off of it. Then a thought crossed her mind. Does he have a name and how can she recognize him from other Goliath's? Not many of them have the savage-skin but that didn't mean he was the only one.

"You don't have a name do you?" Caira asked and the Goliath looked at her. What was this _name_ thing she was asking him about? As a matter of fact, what is it? This time he searched his brain for the answer. Maybe this newfound knowledge can tell him. So she wanted to call him something? The Goliath sighed through his nose and shook his head. "Okay then, I'll give you one."

' _ **What the hell is wrong with her?**_ ' The Goliath thought. He watched Caira close her eyes as she thought about what to name him. From what she saw when he was fighting the Kraken, he was strong and gave off excitement or thrill when in combat. The medic smiled and opened her eyes.

"I'll name you...Ares!" The Goliath tilted his head to the side curiously. It was odd but he could somehow feel the power of that name once she said it. Ares..huh. Well, she could've given him a worse name. The savage-skinned creature nodded his approval and Caira smiled. "Ares it is."

' _ **Ares..Ares..**_ ' The fire beast went over his name a couple times before it finally stuck in his head. He had a name now. A _human_ gave him a name; gave him something he never had or didn't think was important. He searched his brain for a word to describe this feeling he felt now but nothing came to mind. All the new words that he learned didn't even come close to what he was feeling now. Good and an odd sense of pride were the only ones in the ball park of it. ' _ **My name is Ares**_.'

After the Goliath was christened as Ares, Caira resumed her plan of studying her new friend. Although she didn't have the proper tools to conduct any formal research, the medic settled for observing and writing notes. As she walked side by side with Ares, she watched him do whatever it was that he normally did. However, Caira noted how strange it was that he understood everything she was saying and asking. Well, almost everything. The Goliath had no clue that she was talking about when she used big words so she kept things as simple as possible. He even allowed her to touch him when doing small physical research.

Ares had no idea why Caira was doing all this. He wasn't used to getting all this attention and was slightly uncomfortable. Maybe she was just curious about him? Her grip on his hand and arm as he sat down was firm but gentle. She was gliding her fingers over his scales and was doing something with a couple things she took out of her bag. What were they? _Pen_ and _notepad_ were the words that appeared in his mind. As he watched her write, his hunger made itself known and Ares sniffed around for any nearby prey. It was weird to have a companion with him, especially one that was human, but strangely he didn't mind. Caira's presence calmed him for a reason that was unknown to him and he signaled for the medic to follow him. They started walking and Ares continued to sniff around.

"How far can you smell?" Caira asked and Ares pointed to a tree several yards away. She wrote the distance down and the Goliath suddenly leaped towards a few mammoth birds. He slammed his fists down on them and started slashing his claws at them. Caira activated her jetpack and watched from the air as Ares ripped his prey apart and started eating. The medic landed next to him and almost laughed when he offered her a mammoth bird that hung limply from his jaws.

"No thanks big guy. They're all yours." The Goliath stared at her for a few seconds before he continued eating. Caira needed to get back to the Laurie Anne soon or else the others might assume that she was dead. She also had to convince Cabot to let Ares into the ship for more research. The medic sighed as she remembered leaving Abe, Hank, and hyde behind in her haste to catch up with the fire beast. They must be so pissed off with her right now. "I have to head back now Ares."

' _ **Back?**_ ' Ares thought until he remembered that she had abandoned her pack to follow him. He finished eating and licked the blood from his claws before he stood up.

"I'll see you again soon. And I'll bring you something okay?" Ares nodded and watched as Caira used her acceleration field to race back the way she came. It was strange. These mixture of feelings left him so confused that a small headache started to develop. The Goliath decided to go hunt for more food and leaped away. What he didn't notice was a large and slim shadow shoot across the ground with great speed.

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Booyah! That's chapter two for now! Read and Review!

My Goliath character is named after the God of War and Ares is pronounced (air-eez) or how you would pronounce the Zodiac sign Aries.


	3. He Lives in You

Hey what's up guys and welcome to this brand spankin' new chapter for all of you to enjoy to your heart's content! :) Now I'm not sure on the schedule for updating this story so it'll just be whenever I have time right now. For now though, enjoy!

The song for this chapter is **He Lives in You** from the **Lion King soundtrack**. Why? Cause it's awesome! :)

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The next day, Caira sighed as she watched Ares roll around in a medium sized river; probably trying to keep himself cool. The medic's mind wandered back to when she was reunited with her fellow hunters.

 **Flashback**

 _"What the hell were you thinking girlie?!" Hank shouted._

 _"You could've been sliced into little thin deli pieces!" Abe shouted and Caira sighed._

 _"Yes I know and I'm very sorry." Caira said. Hank lit a new cigar and Abe just sighed. "I know I left you guys vulnerable but I just recently made a discovery."_

 _Hyde walked away, completely uninterested in whatever scientific discovery she was about to tell them. Hank groaned but remained where he stood and Abe rubbed his temples._

 _"Alright Caira, what did you find?" Abe asked._

 _"It has to do with the Goliath I ran after earlier." That got the attention of the support and trapper. They also wondered how Caira was able to successfully command that savage-skinned monster. "I've met that Goliath before. He was badly injured and I helped him by killing a pack of Trapjaws that were attacking him. He didn't attack and even showed a docile attitude towards me."_

 _"You can't be serious." Hank said. "Those monsters ain't got a docile bone in their overgrown bodies."_

 _"Who doesn't have a docile bone?" The three hunters paused their conversation and turned to see Cabot and Parnell walking over._

 _"Caira here is sayin' that she met a docile Goliath." Hank said. Parnell had a look of confusion and Cabot raised an eyebrow._

 _"Why do you say that? The monsters we've seen and fought weren't exactly on friendly terms with humans in general." Parnell said and Caira turned to Abe and Hank._

 _"You two were there. You saw the Goliath stop when I said so." The two were silent and Cabot turned to them._

 _"Is that true?" Abe sighed and nodded._

 _"It is. It was a savage-skinned Goliath and it saved Caira's life by attacking the Kraken we were fighting. It was about to attack me next after Hyde and Hank, but Caira jumped in the way and told it to stop. And it actually obeyed her." Parnell's eyes widened and Cabot's eyes narrowed. "It ran away once the dome went down."_

 _"That is indeed strange." a robotic voice over the intercom said. "The species have always displayed very high aggression. Why hasn't this one?"_

 _"Oh it has Bucket, but for some reason it's not aggressive towards Caira." Abe said and everyone looked at the medic._

 _"Cabot, I wanna bring him here for more research." Caira said._

 _"Say what?!" Hank shouted. "Girlie are you fuckin' insane?!"_

 _"I don't think that's a good idea either." Abe said._

 _"They have a point Caira. Just because this Goliath is docile to you doesn't mean it is to the rest of us." Cabot said._

 _"I'll be there to make sure that nothing bad happens. Come on Cabot, this is our one chance to learn more about these creatures and their corpses just aren't cutting it!" Caira took a breath and a small amount of self-loathing appeared from what she was about to say. "And..we'd be able to upgrade our weapons to be even more efficient at killing them."_

 _"Now I like the sound of that." Hank said. Abe shrugged but agreed and Cabot mulled it over in his head. Caira waited with bated breath for her boss' answer._

 _"Bring it to a specific location and Parnell and I will meet you there to observe its interactions with you. If you can successfully keep it under control then I'll consider it." Cabot said and Caira smiled brightly._

 _"Thanks boss! You won't regret it!" Caira said and she started to discuss with the support and assault on where to meet._

 **End Flashback**

' _The problem is_ if _I can keep Ares under control._ ' Caira thought as she watched the Goliath lay still in the water. His eyes were closed as the cold water raced over the lower half of his body. "I wanna talk to you Ares."

' _ **Talk? About what?**_ ' Ares thought as he slowly opened his eyes. He stood up and walked over to the boulder the medic was sitting on.

"There are two people who want to meet you and I really need you to stay calm." Caira said and Ares' eyes narrowed. Who are these people? Are they from her pack? The ones he saw weren't exactly ones that he was fond of. He didn't trust those other humans and he wasn't even sure if he could fully trust Caira yet. The medic could tell he was apprehensive about meeting someone he didn't know and petted his head. "Don't worry. I'll be here."

That sent a small wave of comfort through his body. Suddenly, the Goliath heard a noise and growled as he turned around. There were two human males landing several feet away from them. As soon as Ares saw the large guns they were carrying, the urge to kill them started to flare up. His eyes started glowing and he snarled. Caira immediately noticed Ares' demeanor change and become more aggressive, just like all the other Goliaths. She saw Cabot narrow his eyes and move to ready his Rail Cannon. Parnell took out his MO. Titan Shotgun and Ares angrily roared at their presence. The savage-skinned monster was getting ready to attack! She needed to do something and fast! Caira activated her jetpack and floated in front of the fire beast's face. He stopped snarling and took a step back from the medic's sudden appearance. His head wandered over to the support and assault behind her and he growled even louder.

' _ **Kill! I have to kill them**_!' Ares thought until he felt a hand gently touch his lower jaw and found his attention being forcefully directed towards Caira.

"Don't look at them. Focus on me." Caira said as she used her free hand to pet his head. Her other hand moved to the underside of the Goliath's jaw and gently scratched. Ares' mandibles twitched as he let out a purr. The glowing in his eyes faded and they slid halfway closed as his large body visibly relaxed. The fire beast's attention was solely given to Caira now. As the jet fuel started to run out for the medic, Ares' body slowly sank down at the same time Caira's body did. She landed on her feet but the Goliath's entire body softly landed on the ground. Caira dropped down to her knees as she continued petting Ares, who was laying down with his head in her lap and his tail was wagging. To say Cabot and Parnell were impressed and shocked at the same time would be an understatement. One minute the savage-skinned monster was ready to rip them apart then the next, he became the equivalent of a harmless kitten.

The medic's hand moved down to the fire beast's neck and he nuzzled into her. A part of Ares was angry that Caira was able to disarm him so quickly and easily but the other half felt so relaxed and calm that everything else didn't matter. Ares guessed that this was one of the reasons he chose not to attack and kill her but he wasn't sure if that was the case or not. Right now though, he didn't care.

"I'm thoroughly impressed Caira." Cabot said and Parnell nodded in agreement with an amused smirk. Caira grinned.

"Well to be honest boss, I didn't think it would work this well. Actually I'm surprised it worked at all." Caira said as she ceased her petting. Ares turned over to his side and just continued to lay there; with the only movement being the rise and fall of his chest and the slight sway of his long and powerful tail. He continued to purr but it was much more quiet and lazy. Parnell continued to observe with interest. The assault could definitely sense a bond growing between the young medic and Stage-One Goliath. He didn't know what caused this beast to act this way when all the others would attack them on sight. Parnell took a step closer only to pause when the Goliath growled at him.

"Calm down big guy. Parnell won't hurt you, and neither will Cabot." Caira said softly while gesturing to the two men. Ares looked at the medic before he turned to the other human hunters. He watched as Cabot and Parnell put their weapons away and snorted before he nodded his approval for the assault to move closer. If Caira trusted them not to cause any harm then he'd tolerate their presence for now, though he'll remain wary just in case. Caira motioned for Parnell to approach them with one of her hands and he did just that. Ares watched as the human male approached them but he didn't growl at him this time.

"Does he understand what we say?" Parnell asked as he bent down. He started patting the Goliath's neck plates and Ares nodded. That surprised the assault and Caira giggled.

"Yes he does, but don't use big words." Caira said.

"When exactly did he get this way?" Cabot asked.

"I'm not sure myself. Ever since I first met him, he's been able to understand me. Somehow, he's more intelligent than the others."

"That's not a good thing Caira. You saw how he almost attacked us, I doubt it won't be worse when he meets the others." Cabot said as he folded his arms.

"Just give Ares a chance Cabot. Please?" Parnell raised an eyebrow.

"Ares?" Caira smiled.

"That's his name. I gave it to him yesterday." Ares nodded in agreement. "He liked it so it stuck."

"Ares." Cabot called his name and the Goliath looked at the support in acknowledgement. It didn't look like he would attack anymore and Cabot sighed. "He has to meet everyone else first before I can even think about allowing him on the ship, and that's if he doesn't evolve and can fit. We'll see then if it's safe for research to be done on him."

' _ **Research?**_ ' Ares thought and looked at Caira. What was this research that the other human was talking about and what did it mean?

"We just want to learn more about you, that's all." Caira said and Ares stared at her for a few seconds before he accepted that answer. As he stood up, the medic stood up with him. "Wait Ares! I have a gift for you."

' _ **A what?**_ ' Ares wondered what she was talking about and watched her take something out of her bag. It was long and the same shade of blue as the medic symbol on Caira's brown cap and armbands. The Goliath was fascinated by it. _Scarf_ appeared in his mind on what the object was.

"This is a scarf." Caira said, confirming his thoughts as she held up the very large object with a smile on her face. Ares bent down and sniffed the blue fabric. The medic used her jetpack to fly up and gently tied the scarf around his bicep. Caira moved back a little to take a good look. The scarf was soft against Ares' scales and the fire beast stared at her.

' _ **This..is for me?**_ ' Ares thought with a tilt of his head. Once Caira smiled at him, his tail wagged. She gave him a gift and for the first time ever, he felt happy but he didn't understand why. Why did he feel this way after being given something that he really didn't need? What did getting this gift mean anyway? Why did she give this scarf to him? So many questions filled his head and another headache made itself known. Everything new in his life was very confusing now. Cabot continued to watch the interactions between the two before he received a distress signal from a colony.

"Caira! Parnell! We need to head out!" Cabot shouted before he flew off.

"Got it." Parnell said and he followed the support. Caira was about to follow until she noticed that Ares hadn't moved from his spot. He was still staring at the scarf neatly tied around his huge bicep. Then an idea appeared in her head. "Come with us Ares."

' _ **What? Where?**_ ' Ares didn't know what was going on or why Caira wanted him to follow her somewhere. The savage-skinned creature snorted and followed the medic to their destination. That place was the Rendering Plant. Once they arrived, they saw a Stage-Two Wraith feeding off some of the dead bodies of the colonists. Ares had observed Wraiths in action before and was concerned. Though he was still physically stronger, this Wraith was much faster which means she could still take him down. This might be a tough one, Ares could feel it. Caira assessed the situation they were in. They didn't have a trapper, this Wraith looked to be at Stage-Two, and the Goliath on their side was only at Stage-One. The Wraith took notice of their presence and hissed at them. She saw the Goliath among the human hunters and Ares could see the confusion. What was a Goliath doing with humans? Before Ares knew what was happening, Cabot and Parnell raced forward. Caira readied her grenade launcher and looked at Ares, who hadn't moved yet again.

"What's wrong?" Caira asked but Ares wasn't sure. He had no problem attacking and killing the Stage-Two Kraken from before but it was different this time. He felt no need to attack this Wraith. He didn't want to help Cabot and Parnell. Despite being tolerant of them earlier, there was no reason for him to help.

"Caira!" Cabot called out to the medic. Caira looked at him then back at Ares once more before she joined in the fight. The Goliath remained where he was and watched. The hunters were evenly matched with the Wraith just like they were with the Kraken but they didn't have a trapper to slow her down and that made it tough for them to land a hit on her. She was warping around the acid pools and rocks until she hid and summoned a decoy. Ares saw it happen and despite the Wraith being invisible, he could still smell her scent. He still didn't feel like helping the hunters and even felt like he should help the Wraith a little but still made no move to join in the fight for some reason he didn't know. As soon as the the decoy disappeared, the Wraith reappeared behind Parnell and slashed his back. The force of the attack pushed him forward and he hit the ground. She was about to slice him in half but the assault rolled out the way and shot her with his shotgun. The Wraith hissed in pain and backed away from him. Cabot shot his Rail Cannon at her and it pushed her further away from the assault. Then Caira flew over.

"Are you okay?" Caira asked as she helped him up.

"Yeah I'm good. It doesn't feel like I'm bleeding or anything." Parnell said and the medic checked the damage.

"It looks like your jetpack and some of your armor are badly damaged but the attack didn't reach deep enough to your body."

"Now is not the time!" Cabot shouted as he dodged another slash from the Wraith and Parnell and Caira rushed back into the fight. However, the female monster noticed them and landed a Warp Blast at them. It knocked both the assault and the medic back several feet. Parnell landed on the ground but Caira was still in the air. Ares saw that she would land in one of the acid pools and something snapped in his head.

' _ **She'll die!**_ ' Ares thought and before he realized what he was doing, he raced after her. The Goliath leaped into the air and gently caught her. He landed on his back in the acid pool with a loud splash and immediately roared in pain as the liquid started to burn through his scales and plates. Caira was laying on his large chest and looked up in surprise. Ares had saved her again! The Goliath used one of his arms to pick her up as he stood up. The medic was now sitting on his forearm and Ares moved that arm closer to his chest as he leaped out of the acid pool. Caira was holding onto one of his broad shoulders and large hand as he landed on the ground with a loud thud. He gently set her down and glared at the Wraith with his eyes now glowing.

The Wraith saw the anger in his eyes. Ares knew that she was wondering why he saved that human and why he was looking at her that way. He roared and charged forward; the loose ends of his now damaged scarf billowing in the wind on his arm. He rained punch after punch but the Wraith dodged them all. She slashed downward on him but he blocked it with one of his arms. Ares growled in pain as the blade cut into his flesh and he shot his Fire Breath at her. It hit the Wraith square in the chest and she roared in pain. She warped to the side and dodged a claw swipe from the fire beast. Parnell joined in again and shot multiple blows of his shotgun at the Wraith. Cabot and Caira soon followed the assault and Goliath's lead, shooting the Rail Cannon and Napalm Grenades respectively.

The female monster was in big trouble now. Fighting a trapper-less hunter team wasn't an issue but fighting a hunter team with their trapper replaced by an angry Stage-One Goliath definitely posed a big problem. The medic was keeping her fellow humans refreshed too. That left only two options left for the Wraith to choose from. Run, or kill them all one by one with the medic being the first target. Now, the Wraith saw her chance for option two. Caira had moved back a few feet and let the other three continue their onslaught. The Wraith warped behind a few huge rocks and summoned a decoy again. Then as the hunters were fighting it, she moved into position and successfully landed an Abduction on Caira.

Caira almost screamed when she felt the real Wraith grab her from seemingly out of nowhere. She dropped her grenade launcher in surprise and felt herself get swiftly pulled away from her team.

"Caira!" Parnell shouted and Ares' eyes widened as he saw it happen. No! He couldn't let her get killed! He dropped down to all fours and raced after them as fast as his injured body would let him go. He was pretty fast but Wraiths were well known as not only the sneakiest but also the fastest. There was no way the Goliath would be able to catch up. A ripple of fear echoed from his heart and spread throughout his body. He wanted..no, he needed to save Caira. He needed to save his new friend but his injuries were starting to slow him down now. His gash on his arm was leaking blood and the wind made his burns sting. He growled in frustration as his speed continued to lower. The only way to make it in time, the only way to save Caira was to...

 **EVOLVE**

Ares needed to evolve. He had to do it right here and now before the medic became Wraith food.

' **Evolve..Evolve...Evolve!** ' Ares' eyes shut tightly as he cried out that word in his head, willing his body to evolve.

Then it happened.

Spasms erupted from his body as he continued running on all fours. He started to glow red and pain wracked him. Black goo started to coat the Goliath as the change took place. Old scales peeled off and old plates crumbled away to be replaced by new and stronger versions. His body grew bigger and more muscle was packed on, causing the scarf to rip off from the immense strain. His claws grew longer, his tail grew more powerful, and his spike grew longer as well. The evolution should've finished right there but a few other things happened. A headache formed again as new words, emotions and other things cognitive appeared in his mind as his brain evolved. His throat started to feel sore too. Then the black goo started to ooze off his new and more powerful body. It also revealed spikes that weren't there previously. They were smaller and trailed down the rest of his back, curving downward slightly towards his tail. He also had one spike on each elbow of moderate size that were slightly curved upward towards the sky. Once the black goo left his body completely, Ares let out a powerful roar and a bigger stream of fire. The evolution had finished and he felt much stronger than before. His injuries were fully healed and his speed had increased. The time to save Caira was here!

The Wraith threw Caira against a rock wall and activated her Super Nova. As she lunged forward, a very large black and red creature stepped in the way and curled his entire body over the medic, effectively shielding her completely from the Wraith's attack. Caira had expected herself to be sliced to pieces by now but was shocked to see the savage-skinned Goliath before her. He was growling in pain as he endured slash after slash the Wraith landed on his back. The medic's body was huddled against his chest. Once the attack ceased, Ares swiftly knocked the female monster away with the back of his forearm. The force of it sent her flying and she loudly crashed through a couple trees then into a wall. The Goliath slowly moved away from the medic and the two continued to stare at each other until he heard a noise. The Wraith was warping away from them! Ares snarled. There was no way he was going to let her get away!

Even with his fresh new injuries, the fire beast leaped after the Wraith with fierce anger in his heart. She summoned another decoy but it wouldn't work on him. The decoy didn't have a scent but she still did. He landed next to her and grabbed her by the tail with both hands, causing the decoy to disappear and her invisibility to wear off prematurely. He lifted her entire body off the ground and slammed her back down. He continued this multiple times and even threw her into a wall. Ares grabbed the Wraith by her head and applied pressure until it was completely crushed. Blood and brain matter splattered everywhere and the female monster's body went limp. The Goliath dropped her corpse and made eye contact with Caira again. Parnell and Cabot finally managed to catch up with them. They stopped next to Caira and readied their weapons. The medic stood up and motioned for them to put their guns away. Then she slowly walked forward without taking her eyes off Ares.

"Ares? Is that you?" Caira asked and the Goliath turned his body to face her. He moved to open his mouth but it wasn't fire, smoke or a noise that came out. It was something else and it was much more shocking than anything else that happened since the hunters first arrived at Shear.

" **It is.** "

He...spoke.

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Now some of you may have already saw this coming but if you didn't expect this so soon or at all then I'm glad I was able to surprise you. :) Anyway Read and Review!


	4. Ego Draconis

Woohoo! First chapter of the new year XD! I'm really grateful for everyone's patience for this new chapter. I've written down a few more ideas for the plotline to this story so be prepared! Also, I do intend to add Behemoth and MAYBE even Gorgon sometime in this story though I'm still not sure about putting in the new hunters. It would honestly be a bit hard for me to keep up with so many of these characters that keep popping out of the Turtle Rock Studios woodwork like a damn factory, especially since this story focuses primarily on the relationship between Caira and Ares. Anyway, let me know what you guys think and if you really REALLY want me to put in the new hunters then I will make some changes and add them in somewhere but who knows. Alright guys, enjoy chapter four!

The song this chapter is named after is the **Main Theme** from the **Divinity 2: Ego Draconis soundtrack**. Love that game! XD

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"A-Ares.'' Caira couldn't believe what just happened. Ares had evolved and now he could talk! She took a step back and the now Stage-Two Goliath noticed it. He slowly dropped down to all fours and lowered his tail. He made a low rumble in his throat but remained where he was. Parnell and Cabot each had a hand on their weapons but the Goliath's main focus was on the medic.

" **Do not be afraid Caira. I will not harm you.** '' Ares said. He had quite a deep voice but it wasn't really a surprise considering how big he was. The Goliath was glad to see that she was alright and started to move closer but stopped abruptly when a feeling washed over him that carried the same weight of familiarity as rage.

Hunger.

Ares was hungry. In fact, he was starving and his eyes started glowing.

' _ **These humans. I...I can eat them.**_ ' Ares thought and he continued to move closer but in a trance-like state with saliva dripping down his fangs and mandibles. He was so...hungry.

''Ares? Are you okay?" Caira asked and she took another step back when he didn't answer. The small scent of fear entered the fire beast's nose and he snapped out of it. He looked at the medic and took a step back. What was he doing? Was he..Was he going to eat her?

' _ **N-No. I can't.**_ ' The Goliath thought and he suddenly leaped away. He ignored the shouts from the medic and came across another destroyed human settlement. Ares didn't know what happened here but he didn't care. He needed to eat. He raced over and feasted on the human corpses left behind with a sense of urgency. The savage-skinned creature ate every last one of them and just like before, a large headache appeared. Ares gripped his head tightly and dropped down to his knees and elbows. His red eyes grew out of focus as new visions processed in his brain. '' **It hurts! It hurts!** ''

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 _"You! You fucking monsters!" The very same blond-haired man from his earlier vision had returned. This time he was inside a huge containment chamber floating in red fluid with a metal mask covering his mouth and nose so he could breathe. Thin tubes were running in and out of a few places on his body and he was banging his fists on the reinforced glass. "Let me out of here!"_

 _"I've told you once before already. We can't do that. You are an important specimen in this research and experiment." The man in the suit said while massaging his forehead in annoyance. Didn't this man understand how important this is? "At least take comfort in the fact that you aren't the only one going through this."_

 _"What?!" The blonde man shouted. Did he really just say that? It was one thing to be the only one getting treated as a lab rat, but having others get subjected to the same thing he was going through was different._

 _''Start the experiment." The man in the suit commanded and several scientists started it up from their seats in front of a few consoles. The blonde man immediately screamed in pain as several different fluids entered his body; causing violent reactions. His limbs flailed around in a futile attempt to remove the tubes. The scientists worked on the consoles to regulate the fluids and electricity to keep their subject from dying._

* * *

Ares groaned in pain as another vision entered his head.

* * *

 _The entire containment chamber was glowing a bright red now and the man in the suit started to grow slightly worried. He hoped the experiment was going well and that the subject wouldn't die. It took so many long years for them to reach this point._

 _"Sir! The heat in the containment chamber is rising rapidly!" a female scientist shouted and the worry on the man's face turned into excitement. Were they actually going to do it? Were they finally successful in creating their super weapon? The man started to chuckle and his grin grew wider as cracks appeared on the glass in the chamber. The scientists weren't nearly as happy as their boss was. The cracks started to grow worse and the heat continued to escalate. "U-Um, s-sir?"_

 _"Silence! This is exactly what we've been hoping for!" The man shouted. The glass finally shattered from the pressure and a large clawed hand slowly reached out from the thick smoke. Alarms blared to life and the sprinklers turned on. Once the cold water chased away some of the smoke, all the scientists stared in shock at the reddish-grey and scaly limb. A loud growl entered their ears and glowing yellow eyes accompanied it. Was this supposed to happen? Was a beast supposed to emerge from there? The man started laughing as the creature burst from the chamber. Its shadow enveloped everyone and the scientists backed away in fear before everything went black._

* * *

Ares was now back in reality and his headache started to fade. He just stared at the ground with one hand still covering his head. Many thoughts scrambled in his mind on what he just saw and where it came from. He recognized that hand that came out of the smoke. Most Goliaths were that color and he didn't know why or how but he was able to put those clues together. Humans...Humans created his kind! Why they did so was unknown and how they were able to was too complex for him to understand.

''But if humans created us, what does that mean for me?" Ares asked himself but was so confused that he couldn't contemplate an answer. He heard human voices a bit further away and fled. Did this mean he was distantly related to humans? Was it the same for the Krakens and Wraiths? He raced towards his foliage covered home and moved towards the very back of the cave. He curled himself into a ball with his back facing the entrance. He didn't care if the hunters could track him. He just wanted to run. To run away from all that he didn't and couldn't understand. He buried his face into his arms and shut his eyes as he tried to get rid of those memories that were passed to him. The Goliath heard footsteps moving closer and a familiar scent entered his nose. That scent relaxed him and smoke coolly exited through his nose. He didn't want anyone to see him this way but he appreciated this person's presence anyway. Ares heard this person stumble around in the darkness in order to find him. His body started glowing to make it easier to see him and he felt a cool hand gently placed on his back.

"What happened Ares?" Caira asked but the fire beast remained silent for a minute before he responded.

" **I-I do not know. I have seen things that I can not make sense of or explain.** " Ares said and he finally moved his body so that he was facing her. His red eyes were glowing so she could see them.

"What things?" The Goliath searched his newly evolved brain for a way to describe them.

" **...Visions. I see humans turning on each other. Humans that I have never seen before in an unknown area. One human was trapped in something and became like me.** " Caira's eyes widened.

"How?" Ares broke eye contact.

" **I do not know. I can not make sense of it. I felt the pain and suffering from that human. I saw it all as if I was there.** " The medic had trouble believing him but saw the lost look in his eyes. Then again, she had a lot more difficulty believing that he made all this up so he must be telling the truth.

"Alright, I believe you. Maybe we should tell Cabot about this." Ares growled slightly.

" **I do not wish to offend you in regards to your pack but I do not trust him.** " Caira was a little confused at how Ares talked. It was strange hearing the Goliath speak so formally and proper. It threw her off how Ares was more polite than most people. Even more than most of the other hunters. She smiled.

''You haven't offended me Ares. I understand, but we can help you. We'll find a way to figure out what it all means and get to the bottom of it." Ares didn't know what ' _get to the bottom of it_ ' meant but he wanted to trust her.

" **Alright. I trust you Caira.** " The medic smiled brightly at his willingness to trust her. Then she remembered what she told Hank and the others earlier. She couldn't have a hand in making stronger weapons to use against Ares and she only hoped Cabot and the others would make an exception.

"Come with me. There are a few things I want to show you and a few more people for you to meet." Ares groaned in annoyance but followed her out of his cave.

* * *

"What the fuck?!" Maggie shouted as Daisy and Ares exchanged growls and snarls with each other. The Stage-Two Goliath had a new blue scarf tied around his bicep. Lazarus was staring at Ares and visually studied him. Val and Markov had their weapons aimed at the fire beast; ready to shoot if he made the wrong move. "You can't fucking expect me to believe that bullshit!"

"It's all true Maggie." Parnell said as he tried to defuse the tension. Caira was rubbing and patting the Goliath's hand to keep him calm. "Caira, help me out here."

"R-Right." Caira said and she moved in between Ares and Daisy. The Goliath turned his attention to the medic and dropped to all fours. Caira began to pet him and the Goliath closed his eyes. He started purring and his tail wagged. Maggie, Markov, and Val watched in utter disbelief. Caira seriously tamed a Goliath?! "Say hi Ares."

The savage-skinned creature whined lowly at her. The medic rolled her eyes and smiled. She gestured to the other hunters and Ares snorted. " **..Hello, my name is Ares.** "

Maggie's, Markov's, Val's,and Lazarus' eyes widened when they heard the Goliath speak. Hank, Abe, and Hyde were also shocked and no one said anything for awhile. "W-What the fuck? What the fuck?!"

" **No need to be so loud. I understand how..strange this is for you humans.** " Ares said and Caira happily petted his head.

"He won't hurt you." Caira said.

'' **That..remains to be seen.** " Ares said and everyone looked at him. " **If you attack me, I will fight back.** "

Caira chuckled nervously as the Goliath continued his glaring contest with Daisy. Then she noticed Ares' claws start digging into the ground. His breathing grew louder and unsteady. The medic moved in front of him and forced his attention on her. ''What's wrong?"

" **Too many. There are too many of you hunters here. I...want to kill.** " Ares had decided to be honest and his body twitched in agitation. He either had to leave or attack them and Daisy's growling grew louder; causing the other hunters to reach for their weapons.

"Just focus on me okay?" Ares growled a little as he made eye contact with her. The Goliath brought his head closer to her and she pressed her forehead against his. Caira placed her hands on both sides of his face and stared at him. Then she closed her eyes and Ares did the same. Her scent entered his nose and he started to relax. The fruity smell coming from the medic eased the tension within both his mind and body. The Goliath's breathing calmed down and he opened his eyes to see Caira smiling gently at him with her eyes open too. "Feel better?"

" **Indeed.** " Ares said and Caira stepped back but the Goliath had to wonder. How was she able to calm him down? Plus, she did it without much effort.

"Is he okay now?" Parnell asked.

''He's fine. Ares isn't used to being around so many of us at once." Caira said. Then she turned to the savage-skinned creature. "Come on, I'll show you around."

'' **Okay.** " Ares said and proceeded to follow the medic inside the Laurie Ann.

''Are you sure it's alright to allow this sir?'' Bucket asked.

''Honestly, I'm not sure. I'll allow it for now but he'll be kept on a very short leash." Cabot said.

Inside the Laurie Ann, Caira was showing Ares around though only to places that were big enough for him to get to. The Goliath could feel the glares from Maggie and Hank. Griffin and Val were giving wary stares. Markov and Hyde had their eyes narrowed but the latter gave a small psychotic smirk. He was itching for Ares to slip up. Abe was unsure of what to think and leaned against the wall with an unreadable expression on his face. Parnell and Cabot watched the fire beast glance around in awe. Caira was enthusiastically conversing with Lazarus about all the research material they could gather. Then Ares walked over to Bucket on all fours and sniffed him.

" **You do not smell like the others. What are you?** " Ares asked.

"I am an artificial intellige-" Bucket cut himself off when he noticed the Goliath's blank stare and head tilt. The robot turned to Caira.

"Use smaller words Bucket.'' The female medic said and he sighed.

''I'm a robot." Bucket said simply and Ares moved closer. Maggie, Val, Markov, Griffin, and Hank raised their weapons but Cabot shook his head at them. The Goliath tapped a claw on Bucket's head and the robotic support was surprised at how gentle it was.

" **You have no flesh.** " Caira walked over.

"He's made of metal big guy." Ares glanced at her before turning back to Bucket.

" **So you are like the humans but made of metal?** " Bucket was taken aback.

''S-Sort of I suppose." Then Caira patted Ares' arm.

"Come on Ares." Ares stared at Bucket for a few more seconds until he finally followed Caira to the research lab with Lazarus right behind them.

"That was quite odd I must say." Bucket said.

''Don't let your guard down for a second. Its just playing us." Maggie said.

"Do you really think Ares is capable of thinking on that big a scale?" Parnell asked and Maggie scowled at the assault calling the Goliath by his name.

"Its grown smart enough to talk. I wouldn't put it past that thing to try something like this. Caira's gonna get her fucking ass killed."

* * *

Ares was laying down as Lazarus looked him over. He squirmed under the male medic's gaze and had to resist the urge to lash out. His mind wandered to what he heard the dark-skinned female trapper say before he was out of earshot. The savage-skinned creature didn't want to hurt Caira. He couldn't even if he wanted to. Ares looked at the female in question and stared at her as she worked on something that he couldn't see.

''You are very quiet right now. I expected you to be quite talkative." Lazarus said and Ares looked at him but remained quiet. Then Lazarus took out a syringe and that's when the Goliath grew nervous. He didn't know what the object was but knew it wasn't good from those visions he had. As soon as Lazarus moved closer, Ares let out a loud growl and his body tensed.

''What's wrong?" Caira asked after she turned around.

"I'm trying to collect a blood sample but he started growling.'' Lazarus said. Caira waked over and patted Ares' head

" **Get that away from me.** "Ares said with a dangerous look in his eyes.

"We're not gonna hurt you Ares." Caira said and the fire beast looked at her. He saw her warm smile and sighed through his nose but nodded. Lazarus carefully placed the needle against the Goliath's scales and slowly applied pressure. It dug through his flesh and the creature's blood began to fill the empty vial. The male medic slowly removed it and watched the tiny hole heal instantly. Lazarus blinked a couple times. Did he imagine that or did it really happen? No, it must be a trick of the light. Caira noticed his stare and looked at him confused. "Something wrong Lazarus?"

"Caira, how fast can this Goliath heal?" Lazarus asked but Caira shrugged.

"I'm not sure. I've seen him heal pretty fast before but I didn't time it. Why?" The man shook his head.

"Nevermind. Let's continue."

"We should just put this beast down right now." The three turned to see Hyde walk in. Ares narrowed his eyes and growled.

" **Is that a challenge human?** '' Ares asked and he stood up on all fours. Hyde grinned and took out his flamethrower.

"You're damn right it is. You gonna put up a fight I hope?" Ares growled even louder and his eyes started glowing. He was at a disadvantage in this small space but the Goliath wasn't going to let that stop him. His control over his rage was slipping.

" **Then I will be glad to oblige. I will rip you apart human.** " Ares snarled dangerously and was about to lunge until Caira stepped in between them.

"Stop it!" The woman shouted. Ares growled again but obeyed. Hyde grunted and Caira stepped towards him. "Don't antagonize him Hyde."

'' **I should not be here anyway. I clearly have more than overstayed my welcome.** " The Goliath said before he started walking towards the exit. Hyde roughly elbowed his arm and the fire beast snarled viciously. He lunged at Hyde and the two started fighting.

"Gentlemen calm down!" Lazarus shouted but the fight continued. Ares had very little room to move while the assault laughed and shot his flamethrower. It was a direct hit but Ares merely roared in anger. He headbutted Hyde into a wall and readied his Fire Breath. Then a gunshot echoed and everything was quiet.

"What the hell is going on?!" A voice shouted and Caira winced when Cabot walked in carrying a pistol with thin smoke coming from the barrel.

''Hell almost broke loose." Lazarus muttered.

"I thought you were supposed to be keeping this Goliath under control Caira." Cabot said.

"Ares was just fine until Hyde decided to be a prick and agitate him." Caira said and the support sent a glare towards Hyde.

" **It does not matter. I am leaving.** " Ares said and he raced out the ship. Before Caira could say anything, the Goliath was out of sight. The medic sighed in disappointment and Cabot placed a hand on her shoulder.

"We'll find him tomorrow morning. I've made a call to the higher-ups about Ares. They'll be here to have a look for themselves."

"You told more people? Why?" Caira asked and Cabot folded his arms.

''They needed to know. Besides, they may be able to help too." The medic sighed again.

"I hope you're right."

* * *

Ares was running across the terrain back to his cave as night soon began to fall. Once he entered, two pairs of glowing eyes-one blue and the other pink-observed from the trees.

" **We've found another one. What do you want to do?** " The pink-eyed one asked.

'' **He's one of us. We'll simply invite him to join our pack.** " The blue-eyed one responded.

" **And if he doesn't?** "

" **Oh he will. After all, we have the answers he seeks so badly and we have so much to teach that young Goliath.** " The two creatures leaped out the trees and the moonlight revealed two monsters. A wendigo-skinned Kraken with glowing blue eyes and a magma-skinned Wraith with glowing pink eyes.

" **Let's inform the Elder One then.** " The Wraith said and the two walked away.

* * *

And there's chapter four everyone. Let me know what you think and I'll see you guys later.


	5. From Past to Present

Hey guys and welcome to chapter five! Here's an important author's note. Since some people want me to put in the Tier 4 and 5 hunters then I shall do it like this. I'll incorporate them into expansions and what I mean by that is that two new storylines will be added in with the new hunters. One for each Tier. However, whether that comes in as sequels to this main story once it's completed or the main plot gets put on a temporary hold and something new comes up for the characters in this story to investigate and they meet the new hunters is something I will leave up to you guys :) So let me know by leaving your thoughts in a review or pm me.

PS. I totally forgot that Wraiths don't have eyes. My bad X(

The song in this chapter is **From Past to Present** from **The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim soundtrack**

* * *

Ares was back in the Laurie-Anne laying down. Lazarus was looking through a microscope at a small sample of the Goliath's blood. The savage-skinned creature was on his back. Why you ask? Well that's because Caira was sitting on his huge chest and using a stethoscope. Now, the fire beast had no clue what the hell she was doing. He was still trying to figure out how in all of Shear the medic managed to convince him to return to the ship.

Flashback

 _"Come ooooon Ares." Caira pleaded. Ares was sitting on his haunches like a dog with his back to her. "Come back to the ship."_

 _" **I will not. As long as that packmate of yours is there, I will stay away. Unless, you want me to kill him.** " Ares said and Caira sighed._

 _"Sometimes I feel I wouldn't mind if you_ did _eat Hyde.'' The medic deadpanned and the Goliath looked at her curiously._

 _" **Was that what you humans call..a joke?** " Caira was about to say something but stopped._

 _"You know, I don't even know anymore." Ares chuckled at the jaded tone in her voice. "But seriously Ares, come back."_

 _" **Why should I?** "_

 _"Becaaaaause it would make me happy." The Goliath's eyes widened at the puppy-dog look that she gave him. Ares purposefully collapsed to the ground and growled in both annoyance and defeat._

 _" **Fine.** " Caira smiled brightly and gave him an excited hug._

 _"Thank you!"_

 _" **Human women are the worst.** " Ares quietly muttered to himself.  
_

 _The journey back to the Laurie-Anne was relatively noisy with Caira riding on the Goliath's back like a horse and talking to him. Ares had no clue what she was talking about with her science jargon but he continued to listen anyway and throw in some comments here and there. Bucket, Parnell, and Abe greeted them at the entrance._

 _"I have never seen a stranger sight." Bucket said. Caira hopped down and walked inside to find Lazarus._

 _"So, how did Caira convince you to come back." Parnell asked and Ares started sulking._

 _" **I am not sure myself. She gave me this look on her face and I just felt..what is the word...compelled to give in. What kind of magic trick was that?** " Ares asked and both the assault and trapper laughed._

 _"Welcome to the world of women Ares. They're more complicated and confusing than anything else in the universe." Abe said patting the Goliath's arm in sympathy. "Even women don't understand women."_

 _"Aren't Wraiths the same way?" Parnell asked._

 _" **I do not know. I have never spoken to one.** " Abe and Parnell looked at each other. " **Caira is the only female I have spoken to individually.** "_

 _"Holy shit." Abe said in sheer amazement._

 _"Over here Ares!" Caira shouted cheerfully while waving her hand at the Goliath. Ares snorted out black smoke from his nose before he followed after the medic._

End Flashback

"Now breathe out some fire." Caira commanded and Ares took a deep breath before his body started glowing. He let out a thin stream of fire that was as smooth and gentle as the flame on a candle. The medic heard a strange sound within the Goliath's body and removed her stethoscope. From her analysis of the Goliath carcasses she looked through, it was probably the sound of his storage sacs containing hydrogen and methane gases. Caira jumped off Ares' chest and wrote down some notes. Lazarus was looking through more samples of Ares' scales and plates. There were a few test tubes filled with the savage-skinned creature's blood, saliva, and the thick clear fluid that coats and protects him like armor.

"It would seem that the fluid that acts as armor for Ares is generated the same way as oil is on human skin." Lazarus said and Caira walked over to take a look. Ares turned over to his stomach.

" **Are you done Caira? I want to show you something.** " Ares said.

"I guess I can take a break. What do you want to show me?" Caira asked and Ares stood up on all fours.

" **You have shown me parts of your world. I just wish to show you mine.** " Caira couldn't help but smile at that. " **It is a place your kind have not seen yet.** "

"Go ahead Caira. I will finish up here." Lazarus said.

"Well if that's the case then lead the way.'' The human and Goliath exited the Laurie-Anne but were stopped by Val, Griffin, and Hank.

"Where are you going Caira?" Val asked.

''Ares has something he wants to show me. I'll be back." Caira said. The three looked at the Goliath who just stared at them before giving a slight nod.

''That don't sound like a good idea Caira. You shouldn't go by yourself." Griffin said.

"It'll be fine Griffin. Don't worry about me." Caira waved off the trapper's concern.

"Fine, but don't come runnin' to us if you become monster food." Hank grumbled out. Then he turned to Ares. "You better bring her back in one piece Goliath."

" **I will protect her.** " Ares said standing on two legs. Caira settled for riding on his forearm and held onto his hand and shoulder. They started trekking across the rocky terrain for about a half an hour until it was switched for a grassy one. Trees much taller than the Stage-Two Goliath decorated their surroundings. The savage-skinned creature made sure to avoid any potential danger to the medic with him. Ares stopped once they reached what seemed like a dead end of vines, bushes, and moss. Before Caira could say anything, Ares lowered her to the ground and moved the foliage aside. He gestured for Caira to step through and once she did, a gasp escaped her mouth. It was a hidden oasis that was more beautiful than what the medic had seen so far on Shear. There was a large, crystal clear lake with a few rivers running into it. They all varied in height with some creating small waterfalls off the edges of the cliffs. The grass, leaves, vines, and moss were all a bright and healthy green color. The sun was shining brightly and the rays caused the water to sparkle like polished gems.

"This place is amazing." Caira said in awe. Ares dropped down to all fours and started lapping up the fresh water. Once he satisfied his thirst, he turned to her.

" **This place has not been touched for a long time. I have smelled the scent of others who have reached this place recently but none of them are human. So, you are the first.** " Ares saw how excited the medic was through her brown eyes. His red ones softened and his tail wagged until he sensed the presence of two strong creatures. He closed his eyes and concentrated both his hearing and sense of smell. The Goliath heard the crackling of electricity and smelled the scents of a Kraken and a Wraith. " **Caira! Stay close to me!** "

"What's wrong?" Caira asked. Ares moved closer to her and enclosed his body around hers protectively. Caira took out her grenade launcher and glanced around. The Goliath heard the screeching sound of the Wraith warping around them and growled with his body glowing red. Both monsters revealed themselves from the shadows. It was a Stage-Two wendigo-skinned Kraken and a Stage-Two magma-skinned Wraith. "Oh shit."

" **This is quite unexpected. You brought us a snack.** " The Wraith said with her head turned to Caira and licking her fangs. Though she didn't have any eyes, she knew exactly where the medic was. Caira and Ares were shocked that she could talk though the Goliath got over it fairly quickly and snarled.

" **You will not touch her!** " Ares shouted and blasted a stream of fire at her. The Wraith warped out of the way and shot towards him like a bullet. She swung an uppercut at the Goliath and it connected, causing him to get knocked back a few feet and he hit the ground with a loud thud. Caira activated her jetpack and shot a couple napalm grenades. One of them managed to hit the Wraith and she growled in annoyance. Just as she raced towards the medic, Ares quickly grabbed her by her tail and threw her into a tree. The Wraith swiftly got back up but was promptly knocked back down by the Kraken.

" **Stop messing around! We did not come here to cause trouble!** " The Kraken scolded and Ares moved over to Caira. " **My apologies. My comrade here isn't too happy around humans.** "

" **This human is not to be harmed. I will tear her head off if she tries again.** " Ares snarled out his response and the Kraken's eyes widened slightly at the Goliath's protectiveness. He had never seen any of his kind display such a thing towards a human and he doubted the Elder One saw something like this as well.

"Incredible!" All three monsters turned to Caira. "There are more that can talk! What's your name?"

" **Um..** " The Kraken trailed off. He didn't know how to respond to the tone of excitement in this human's voice. He looked at the Wraith hovering next to him and even though she had no eyes, he could tell she was just as confused as he was. " **Our kind don't have names human.** "

"That's not good. Do you expect me to just call you Kraken and Wraith?"

" **Oh, she's getting a bit too sassy for my liking.** " The Wraith said and she sharpened her scythes on a tree. Ares immediately growled once he saw it. The Kraken glared at his companion. " **What?** "

" _Growls_.. _snarls_..( **What did I just tell you?** )" The Kraken was talking to the Wraith in their monster language and only Ares and the Wraith knew what he was saying.

" _Growls_..( **Fine. Whatever.** )" The Wraith answered back.

" **What do you two want?** " Ares asked.

" **We've been looking for you. Now that you have evolved in the same way we have, our leader wishes to speak with you.** " The Kraken said and he glanced at Caira before returning his gaze to the Goliath. " **Only you.** "

" **I am not going anywhere with you.** " The Kraken sighed at Ares' refusal.

" **Our leader will answer any questions that we know you have. Like, any visions you've received.** " That caught both the attention of Ares and Caira.

"You know about that?" Caira asked as she put her grenade launcher away.

" **Yes, and I see you do as well. Our leader can also answer why this Goliath feels so attached to you even though he shouldn't.** " Caira and Ares looked at each other. The Goliath desperately wanted to know what was happening to him but he was still wary. The Kraken seemed polite enough but he needed to keep an eye on that Wraith. " **So, will you come with us now?** "

" **Very well, but Caira comes with me.** " Ares said and the Kraken sighed.

" **There are plenty more of us back home. That human of yours will be in an immense amount of danger.** " The Kraken said.

" **Besides, you can't possibly trust her. Her kind are our enemies.** " The Wraith said folding both sets of arms across her chest.

" **She has proven more trustworthy than both of you so far.** " Ares didn't have to say anymore for the two monsters to understand the message. ' _She goes wherever I go_ '

" **Fine. However, know that we will not defend her if she gets attacked.** "

"I don't have to go Ares." Caira said though she really wanted to and Ares knew it.

" **Ares?** " Both the Kraken and Wraith were confused.

" **That is my name. She gave it to me.** " The Goliath said and the Wraith groaned in disgust. The Kraken elbowed her and she hissed in pain.

" **If he wants to be called that then let it go.** " The Kraken said and he nodded towards the Goliath and medic.

" **Follow us then. The Elder One awaits.** " Ares lifted Caira onto his back and followed them on four legs. The Kraken walked on four legs too and the Wraith was floating next to them.

"How are Wraiths able to see so well without eyes?" Caira asked and the Wraith growled in annoyance.

" **No different than how blind humans can see. By scent and sound.** " The Wraith answered and the Kraken nudged her. Then she sighed. " **However it's more advanced. The sounds and smells get projected into my head. The best I can describe it is watching a movie in your head. I don't know specifically what you look like but I do know that you're young by your voice, human and a female by your scent. But don't ask me what color your eyes or hair are.** "

"Allll right already. No need to be so rude." The medic muttered.

" **You're basically silhouetted to her. She knows your basic physical form. If that makes sense.** " The Kraken said. Then he smacked the Wraith in the back of her head with his tail.

" **Keep your attitude in check.** " The Wraith hissed but didn't say anything else. Eventually they left the thick forest and came across an opening within a large rock wall. Once they walked through, Ares and Caira stopped in awe as they gazed at the enormous cavern with several rock bridges connecting the pathways and caves. Surprisingly, there were tons of plant life below them. Trees, moss covered logs and rocks, grass, and some very thick vines. There were plenty of rivers, ponds, and even a lake with a huge waterfall. The sunlight gave the cavern an orange-gold color from a giant hole for a sky view. Tons of stalagmites decorated the ceilings.

"It's like a human city without the buildings." Caira said with a bright smile until she heard Ares growl. "What's wrong?"

" **Stay close to me at all times Caira. The others have noticed you.** " Ares said and the medic looked around again. There were several Goliaths, Krakens, and Wraiths in various stages staring at her with many different skins. Half of them looked at her in hunger while the other half gave looks of rage. The wendigo-skinned Kraken and magma-skinned Wraith walked on both sides of Ares to keep the others back as they moved towards a cave that was significantly bigger than all the others. They entered the cave and saw a sandstone-skinned Behemoth with his back facing them.

" **Elder One, we've brought the Goliath as you requested. However, he demanded his human be brought with him.** " The Wraith said and the Kraken sighed at her annoyed tone. The Behemoth turned around and looked Caira over with all six of his ice-blue colored eyes. Caira noticed they held a wisdom in them that she had never seen before but they also looked tired. The Behemoth exchanged growls with the Kraken and Wraith that wasn't threatening and the medic watched the two leave.

" **He told them to guard the entrance.** " Ares said as he helped Caira off his back.

" **Indeed. I originally planned to communicate with you in our tongue but since you have brought a human here, I shall speak in her language.** " The Behemoth said.

"This is sooo exciting! I never thought there would be a _lot_ more like you Ares." Caira said and the Elder One looked at the Goliath.

" **Ares?** " The savage-skinned creature nodded.

" **Yes, Caira named me.** " The Behemoth turned to the medic again.

" **So you are called Caira then**?"

"Yep! My name is Caira Diaz. And you are?" The Behemoth's eyes widened at how cheerful the medic was. Then he chuckled.

" **As long as I have lived, I've never met a human so friendly and willing to talk first instead of shoot on sight.** " Caira smiled. " **Our kind have no names but the others call me the Elder One.** "

" **Why the Elder One?** " Ares asked.

"Are you the first Behemoth?" Caira asked and the Behemoth shrugged slightly.

" **Well, sort of. I am the first Behemoth, the first of all our kind actually, to be able to speak in the language of humans and develop their intelligence once I evolved. The first Behemoth, Goliath, Kraken, and Wraith are still savage and mindless but very powerful.** "

" **Because they were the first ones humanity created.** " Caira said and the Behemoth nodded. " **Ares said the same thing. So, his visions were correct.** "

" **Those weren't visions. What Ares saw were the memories bestowed upon him from the human or humans that he ate.** " The Elder One said. " **For decades, I've eaten large amounts of humans, drank their blood, and doing so has given me knowledge that I never thought I would have. To have obtained such power.** "

" **What do you mean?** " Ares asked and Caira took a seat on a boulder.

" **You already know how strong we are correct Caira?** " The medic nodded. " **You and your pack have had a much easier time killing our most savage brethren because even though they are strong, their power is unfocused. The smarter we have become, the more difficult it is for you humans to kill us.** "

"You grew smarter from fighting and eating humans and that allowed you to use your powers more effectively and strategically." Ares didn't know what that last word meant but the Behemoth nodded.

" **Are there any questions you have for me Ares?** " The Goliath looked at Caira then at the Behemoth and the older monster immediately understood.

" **I have this...attachment..** " Ares stopped as he tried to find the right words. The Behemoth chuckled.

" **Well, let me ask you this then. Do you have a pack of your own?** " Ares shook his head.

" **Ever since I hatched from my egg, I have lived on my own. I learned to hunt and fight by practice with no help from anyone.** " The Behemoth sighed in sympathy.

" **You've suffered quite a bit on your own, as have I. Being the first, I had some difficulties adjusting to my newfound knowledge. And I was already an adult.** " Caira giggled. " **As for your attachment to this human, what happened when you met her?** "

" **I was hunting a pack of humans. After I ate the last one, my head was attacked by those memories. It was so painful that I could not move and the last thing I saw were a pack of Trapjaws. When I awoke, there she was. Caira saved my life.** "

" **That is what caused your attachment towards her. You lived your life alone and were about to die but she saved you. Protected you, which is unheard of amongst our kind. That caused your curiosity to unfurl and you befriended her. It's not uncommon to want to stay close to someone who showed you kindness and affection, especially if you rarely received any.** " Caira smiled and patted Ares' arm. " **It's perfectly normal.** "

" **Oh, okay.** " Ares sighed in relief. Then the Behemoth had an amused look in his eyes.

" _Growls_... _snarls_..( **Just make sure it doesn't develop into something _more_ , if you know what I mean**)." Ares thought for a moment until it clicked in his head. He yelped and backed away a little.

" _Snarls_.. _growl_. ( **It will not come to that! Are you crazy?!** )" Caira looked at them both confused. Ares shook his head and the medic folded her arms but let it go for now and turned to the Elder One.

"Both you and the Kraken said you don't have names." The Behemoth nodded at the medic. "Theeeen, I'll give you one!"

" **If it makes things easier for you.** " Caira took a moment to think.

"How about Atlas?" The Behemoth and Ares looked at each other. The Elder One nodded.

" **Very well. My new name is Atlas.** " Caira smiled and the Behemoth chuckled. He had never met a human that was so amusing. The newly christened Atlas motioned for Ares and Caira to follow him. The Kraken and Wraith watched the three leave and walk across a large rock bridge. Caira watched some Stage-One Goliaths and Krakens playing in the lake. Then a Stage-One Wraith suddenly appeared with a Warp Blast that knocked a Kraken over. There were a few Stage-Three Goliaths and Wraiths watching over them.

" **You created all this?** " Ares asked.

" **Not just me. I gathered several other Goliaths, Krakens, Wraiths, and a couple Behemoths and we formed a sanctuary of our own here. A community or a village so to speak.** " Caira was writing down some notes as she listened to Atlas speak. This was incredible! She never thought she'd learn this much, and it was all because she met Ares. " **We were living a peaceful life here. However, the humans arrived to Shear. I had hoped they gave up chasing us after the firsts of our kind escaped, but underestimating the humans' tenacity was a foolish mistake.** "

"Do you know any specifics on what happened? Like how you guys got here and why you were created?" Caira asked and Atlas searched the memories in the archives of his brain.

" **I don't know everything that happened but it wasn't difficult from what I was able to comprehend. The humans wanted to conquer many more planets and they wanted an army to do so. Before they created these Rage Soldiers, Behemoth was their first successfully made creature. Though we can take an enormous amount of damage, we don't dish out as much when you compare us to a Goliath, Kraken or Wraith. They moved on to Wraiths next but needed a creature more balanced in both damage and resistance. They grew closer with the Kraken but it still wasn't good enough for them.** "

"Then came the Goliath." Caira said and Atlas nodded.

" **The Goliath was their ' _perfected_ ' creature to get their wishes fulfilled. The cost however, was much more than they bargained for. The more death and destruction all four of them caused, the less stable they became. Their rage and bloodlust began to build and once they got quite a good taste of human flesh, they turned on their human masters. The ship they were being carried on malfunctioned thanks to the Kraken and they warped to this planet. All the data on them was erased since they were projects done in secrecy. No one went after them until decades later because the humans assumed they died from the crash.**"

"But they clearly didn't." Atlas sighed.

" **Indeed they did not. How the humans managed to create us is filled to the brim with tons of science jargon that I can't even begin to understand. How you humans can think like that baffles me.** " Caira laughed and Atlas flashed his fangs at her in a grin-like manner. Then he frowned as much as his face could. " **I don't know who was behind all that though.** "

" **But then you humans tried to take over this planet.** " The three turned to see the magma-skinned Wraith warp towards them. " **The peace we created was broken with all your giant toys that you punctured the ground with and so, we had to rise up and take action.** "

"But why are you guys so smart and the others are-"

" **Savage and mindless animals?** " Caira winced at the Wraith cutting her off and Ares glared at the void beast.

"I was actually going to say ' _not_ '." The Wraith snorted and Atlas growled slightly.

" **Our human guest has not shown any hostility towards us. Be polite.** " Atlas warned her.

" **Our normal grey-skinned brethren are what you humans call ' _raging monsters_ '. They are incapable of thought or reason. They can learn but that's all instinct based and they have insatiable appetites for death and destruction. They can't be controlled and so we cut our ties with them.**" The Wraith said and something in Caira's pocket beeped. She took out her communicator and listened in.

"Looks like I have to head back. Thanks for all the info Atlas, and I'll be sure to keep this place a secret!" The Behemoth nodded in appreciation.

'' **Thank you Caira, but I must tell you one more thing before you leave.** "

"Something wrong?"

" **There was one more of our kind on that ship but I didn't get a good glimpse of it from those memories. I don't know what it is or what it's capable of. The only thing I can tell is that it's spider-like, if that makes sense.** " Ares and Caira looked at each other.

"Thanks for the warning." Caira said and she took off on her jets with Ares charging after her. The Wraith looked at Atlas.

" **Was it wise to tell a human all that information?** " Atlas sighed and started walking back to his den.

" **Though Ares is young, he's not as naive as you think. If that human wasn't trustworthy, then Ares would've killed her a while ago when he had the chance. We can sense when someone is trouble.** "

* * *

Back at the Laurie-Anne, Cabot was talking to a few people. Three of them were middle-aged and wearing business suits. Two of them were men and one was a woman. The first man had short brown hair with grey here and there with a goatee similar to Abe and green eyes. The second man had shoulder length red hair with a mustache and blue eyes. The woman had long blonde hair with brown eyes. They were surrounded by a group of armed Ebonstar mercenaries.

"I do find it hard to believe all that, but since this is coming from you Cabot then we'll look into this." The brown-haired man said.

"Thank you Charles." Cabot said and Abe entered the room.

"Caira and that talking Goliath are here." Cabot and the others followed the trapper outside. They saw Caira facepalming while Ares talked to Markov. Parnell was standing next to the medic and chuckling.

"What's going on Caira?" Cabot asked.

"Our worst nightmare boss. Ares and Markov are bonding." Caira said and Abe laughed.

"It is nice to see you share the same views as I young beast. How glorious battle is." Markov said and Ares nodded in agreement.

" **It is. Dying on the battlefield against such strong opponents is a big honor for a Goliath. I am glad to talk to a human who shares this point of view with me. Should I die by the hands of any human, I would like for those hands to be yours.** " Ares said and Markov gave a hearty laugh.

"Caira, I approve of this Goliath you have chosen." Markov said and Caira sighed. The three in suits walked over in surprise at the talking Goliath and Ares narrowed his eyes at them. He was getting bad vibes from all three of them and his instincts were screaming at him to kill them. He growled and backed up slightly. Luckily, Caira noticed and raced over to him. Then she stood in between the trio and Ares.

"Caaaan I help you guys?" Caira asked.

"My name is Charles Mason. This is Kyle Rooks and Stephanie Walker. Your employer, William Cabot, called us about this Goliath that you somehow managed to tame and that he can speak." The brown-haired man said and Caira grinned. Then she turned to Ares.

"Oh it's okay big guy. Cabot called these people to help." Ares just growled. Though he liked Caira's optimism, she was too trusting of these three. Does she really not sense anything suspicious and dangerous about them? Abe saw that Ares wasn't calming down and walked over.

"Ares was it?" The Goliath looked at the bounty hunter and nodded. "Come with me, I'll teach you how to play some cards."

" **Cards? What is that?** " Abe facepalmed and Hank walked over.

"Now you're all ' _buddy buddy_ ' with a Goliath Abe?" Hank asked as he lit a new cigar.

"Just trying to be nice. Is that a fucking crime?" Then Abe smirked. "Or are you afraid you'll get outplayed by a fucking Goliath that doesn't even know what cards are?"

"You can't be serious."

" **Now I surely want to learn how to play.** " Ares said and Hank narrowed his eyes.

"Fine then. Prepare to get your scaly ass handed to ya."

"I shall join in as well." Markov said. The three hunters and Goliath walked inside the Laurie-Anne, leaving the others staring blankly.

"Um..what just happened?" Parnell asked but Caira just smiled.

"This is great! I hoped more of us would get along with Ares!" The business suit trio looked at each other before turning to Cabot.

"I'm sorry we even thought of doubting you Cabot. This is definitely unheard of and that creature must be studied." Stephanie said.

"So, what do you plan to do?" Caira asked.

"That's classified for now Miss Diaz. We shall prepare our research facility for use and we'll return to pick up the Goliath." Kyle said.

"Wait, you'll be taking him away from us?"

"You and your team will be free to see him of course. We will do our best to keep any savagery within him under control." Charles said and he turned to Cabot. "We will return tomorrow night for the Goliath."

"Alright." Cabot said. As soon as the trio and mercenaries left, the support, medic, and assault heard a loud shout of anger. The three ran inside and found Hank, Abe, Markov, and Ares sitting around a large table. Well, Ares was laying down and he was having some trouble keeping the cards still in one of his huge hands. However, they noticed a medium-sized pile of keyes next to the savage-skinned creature. Ares wagged his tail as he gently took a few more keyes from Abe. Hank and Markov were laughing.

"Uh guys, what's going on?" Caira asked.

"Your Goliath here has been kickin' Abe's ass at cards. I can't wait to tell the others." Hank said and Abe groaned.

"So you approve of him too now Hank?" Cabot asked with an eyebrow raised.

"Well, he ain't bad. I'll give him that." Then Ares played his last card.

"Oh fuck me!" Abe shouted as he threw his cards down on the table. Everyone else laughed and the Goliath put the keyes in a bag Markov gave him. Then he gave it to Caira.

" **Here. I do not need these so you can have them.** " Ares said and all the men watched in silence and interest.

"Ummmm, thanks?" That was all Caira could say. Though it was funny to see Abe lose a game of cards to a Goliath, she wasn't sure that she should take the winnings. Ares wagged his tail and Caira petted his head with a smile.

* * *

Elsewhere, Charles and his group were back at their research facility getting everything ready for the talking savage-skinned Goliath. They walked past a few captured Wraiths and a Kraken trying desperately to escape.

"So what do you think Charles?" Stephanie asked.

"This is the opportunity we've been waiting for. Not only is that Goliath regaining some sense of humanity but that will make him easier to control." Charles said.

"A savage and mindless Goliath has nothing to lose. However, that one has bonded with that young medic. That means he now has something precious to him that he wants to protect. Even if it means surrendering himself to us." Kyle said and Charles nodded.

"And that makes him controllable. Make absolutely sure that we're ready for our new guest that will be arriving soon. **Project:Legion** has officially resumed and it's all thanks to Cabot and his team."

* * *

Okay everyone that's it for chapter five! Remember to let me know about how the other hunters shall make an appearance. See you later guys! :)


	6. Scourge of the Broodmother Part 1

Hello my lovely readers and I have good news for you! Congratulations to all the people who are reading this story! You have successfully unlocked the Evolve expansion, Scourge of the Broodmother! The main story has been paused so you can enjoy this new adventure. I hope you guys enjoy!

Evolve expansion #1: **Scourge of the Broodmother**

 **Summary:** Eggs are now popping up and spawning new monsters at a much faster pace than before. Ares and the hunters now seek out the Elder One's help, who may know what's going on. With Cabot employing four new hunters to the cause, the team must work together to stop this rising infestation at its source. She's called...The Broodmother.

* * *

There is a place. A place untouched by humanity that covered a lone creature in its shadows. It was a creature of incredible stature with eyes as black as coal. There were several objects glowing red that surrounded it. The creature just laid there; unmoving. Suddenly, it snarled and let out an angry, screeching roar that echoed throughout its home. It swiftly stood up and growled.

" **How dare they..how dare those disgusting humans destroy MY eggs. MY CHILDREN! I have had quite enough! I will no longer stand by and allow this to continue! To watch my offspring cry out in pain and for help as their precious lives get snuffed out by those savage rodents called humanity!** " It walked towards a brightly colored wormhole floating quietly in the entrance to the creature's home. " **If the humans are amassing an army of their own, so shall I.** "

The monster took several minutes to gather together hundreds of eggs that it had laid over time. Then its claws started glowing pink and purple and it ripped the wormhole open. It jumped to the side and watched as its eggs were sucked in one by one. Once the last egg was taken, the creature closed the portal and immediately started to get to work on laying more eggs. Soon..Soon the humans will be drowning in her kind with nowhere to run or to hide. They will only...

 **Die.**

* * *

Caira was working in the lab with Lazarus as they examined more samples that Ares had 'generously donated' to them. Speaking of the savage-skinned creature, the medic took a look to see him taking a nap alongside Daisy. Since the Goliath wasn't a threat to them, the Trapjaw no longer minded his presence to the surprise of Maggie. Val and Griffin didn't mind him anymore either. Ares and Val had something in common and that was the lack of complete trust from some of the other hunters. He was always interested in learning about the human world from her and that managed to warm the heart of the intelligence officer when she saw the curiosity in his red eyes. Griffin was nothing short of thrilled talking to someone who had never heard of him and didn't even know what movies or comic books were. Despite Ares being a Goliath, it was refreshing and he was fine with taking the time to tell the Stage-Two beast the real version of his hunting escapades. Ares was amazed that a human could hunt all those beasts and still manage to live.

The Goliath continued to play cards with Hank, Abe, and Markov. The bounty hunter had finally managed to beat him at a game and the celebration Abe made was very amusing. Whenever Hank barbecued, he would sometimes have Ares use his flames to cook the meat. Parnell had recently introduced comic books to Ares and the Goliath was amazed. The assault was practically swarmed with questions but he managed to convince the savage-skinned creature to just read them, though Ares had to be incredibly careful not to rip and tear them with his sharp claws. Cabot now trusted Ares enough to go on missions with them, but only if Caira went with him. The medic would keep him calm and docile when she was around. He didn't want to think about what might happen if she wasn't there to keep him grounded.

The only ones who still weren't so fond of him were Maggie and Hyde. Even though Daisy was tolerant of him, Maggie still wasn't. After all that happened to her, Caira wasn't surprised and she didn't blame her. Hyde just wanted to fight the Goliath, melt his face off, and maybe even eat him. Caira sighed and was about to return to work until Bucket's voice appeared over the intercom.

" _Everyone, this is an emergency. Please report to Cabot in the Briefing Room._ " Bucket said and Caira and Lazarus glanced at each other before they temporarily abandoned their work to go meet with Cabot. Ares was wide awake now and tilted his head in confusion.

" **What is happening Caira?** " Ares asked.

"Cabot just needs to talk to us. Stay there and I'll be right back." Caira said and Ares laid his head back down.

In the Briefing Room, Cabot boosted the radio signal as a voice frantically cried for his help.

" _Please Cabot.(static)..I hope you can hear this! There..(static)..eggs scattered around..(static).. the Orbital Drill! I've never seen this many!...Need help!_ " The feed cut out afterwards.

"What's going on Captain?" Val asked and both herself and the rest of the hunters entered the room.

"I've received a distress signal from the Orbital Drill. There are monster eggs out there and they need to be taken care of." Cabot said.

"That don't sound like a problem at all. I'll burn all those eggs and make myself an omelet." Hyde said and most of the hunters cringed in disgust.

"Wait, the distress call didn't say anything about a monster. Is there one around?" Caira asked.

"She does have a point Cabot." Griffin said.

"Alright. We'll send a team down there. Markov, Griffin, Bucket, and Caira will go." Cabot said and he turned to the medic. "Take Ares with you."

"Got it boss." Caira said and she left to prepare with the other three.

"Is anyone else suspicious or is it just me?" Abe asked.

"No it's not just you. Usually there would be a report about a monster attacking the colonists and protecting the eggs." Parnell said.

"But a monster wasn't mentioned." Maggie said.

"Should another team go as well?" Lazarus asked.

"Actually, I just recently assembled another team of hunters." Cabot said and the others looked shocked.

"When the fuck was that?" Abe asked.

"When the higher-ups came to take a look at Ares. I placed a few calls and they signed up. If something big is happening, I'll send them in as backup."

* * *

The dropship flew quietly through the air carrying a huge cage. It steadied itself once it reached the drop area and the doors to the ship opened. Once the hunters jumped out, the doors to the cage opened and Ares jumped out too. As soon as they landed on the ground, their eyes widened. There were dozens upon dozens of eggs littered around the Orbital Drill. A lot more than there usually were. Even Ares was concerned about the sheer amount of them.

"Ares, is this normal? For there to be eggs of this amount I mean." Bucket said.

" **No. At least, I do not think so. I have never seen this many eggs all at once.** " Ares said.

"Do you know what's laying them?" Griffin asked but Ares shook his head. It was odd though. The Goliath felt like he _should_ know but for some reason he didn't. He searched his brain for any information but found himself stuck in a fog. He needed to find the answer so he continued to search. Suddenly, a splitting headache struck and the savage-skinned creature gripped his head in pain.

 _Traitor._

A voice whispered in his mind and Caira hurried over to him.

"What's wrong?" Caira asked.

 _Traitor._

It whispered that word again.

 _Why have you betrayed me?_

' _ **Betrayed you?**_ ' Ares thought. ' _ **Who are you?**_ '

 _Why do you betray me?_

 _My son._

" **...Mother?** " Ares mumbled out and Caira barely managed to hear it.

"Mother? You mean _your_ mother?" Caira asked and the other hunters looked at them. The medic patted his arm to gain his attention. Ares looked at her and winced in pain but lowered his head down to her level. She gently petted his head and the Goliath purred in appreciation.

"Let us get started then." Markov said and the hunters started destroying the eggs. Everything was going well at first, with no sign of any other monsters and they managed to destroy a few eggs until that same voice appeared in the fire beast's head again.

 _How dare you side with those humans!_

Ares growled in pain and gripped his head again.

 _Traitor...Traitor...Traitor!_

The headache grew worse and Ares collapsed on the ground. Caira raced over to him and everyone heard a small sound. It was similar to a heartbeat but it echoed all around them. The eggs started glowing and cracks suddenly started to appear.

"A-Are the eggs starting to hatch?" Bucket asked.

"Shit." Griffin said readying his Gauss SMG side-arm. Caira was kneeling next to Ares with his head in her lap. The outer shells exploded and Stage-One monsters poured out. They were mostly Goliaths but there were a few Krakens, Wraiths, and even a couple Behemoths.

"Oh my god." Caira said. Markov, Bucket, and Griffin backed up and Ares stood up. The hunters and Goliath were far outnumbered and the grey-skinned monsters started closing in. "Bucket, we're definitely gonna need an Evac."

 _Do not let them escape! Kill them!_

A Goliath was the first to charge at them until it was hit by Markov's Lightning Gun. Bucket surrounded the group with his bots and shot several missiles as he ordered an Evac. Caira shot her napalm grenades and Ares knocked away a Kraken. Three Goliaths jumped onto him and tried to dig their fangs into his flesh but the Stage-Two Goliath had full armor. Ares roared and threw the smaller Goliaths off. A Kraken aimed a Lightning Strike and the savage-skinned beast picked up a huge rock. He threw it and it hit the Kraken right in the face.

"This is crazy! We can't take all these bastards on!" Griffin shouted. A Wraith was about to use her Warp Blast until it was shot down multiple times from out of nowhere. The hunters and Goliath saw four more hunters fly towards their direction. Three of them had jetpacks but the fourth one had actual wings. One was a man with short blonde hair that was darker than Griffin's and he had tattoos on his bare chest and arm. His other arm and his legs were completely robotic. The second was a man cloaked in the pelt of a blitzleopard with a batray that was perched on his shoulder. The third was a two-legged bug-man and the last was a girl that looked younger than Caira with dark skin and dark brown hair. With the addition of the four new hunters, they managed to temporarily fend off more of the monsters but there were still too many. Caira and the bug-man were starting to tire faster since they were both fighting and healing their teammates. Suddenly, the dropship appeared and Ares shot out his Fire Breath to hold the monsters back as the hunters boarded. He quickly moved into the cage and the ship flew off. The Goliath breathed out more fire through the bars to stop a couple Krakens from following them. The monsters roared in rage as their prey escaped.

* * *

Inside the Laurie-Anne, the new hunters were introducing themselves.

"Hi everyone! I'm Sunny."

"Name's Slim."

"..Crow."

"Torvald."

"Nice to have you four aboard." Cabot said.

"By the way Cabot, we saw something odd while we were fighting off those monsters." Slim said.

"Yes. A Stage-Two Goliath was fighting them as well as ignoring us." Torvald said.

"It was weird, but super cool." Sunny said.

"Caira, would you like to shed some light on the subject or should I?" Cabot asked with a smirk.

"Oh, well sure." Caira said but before she could say anything, Ares walked over on all fours. There was nothing but awkward silence for a few moments until the four hunters quickly took out their weapons. The Goliath moved back a little and growled at the threat.

"How the hell did this Goliath get in here?!" Slim shouted and Caira moved in between them.

"Relax guys. He's on our side."

"That is utterly preposterous." Torvald said as he glared at her.

"Actually it's true." Griffin said. "Caira managed to tame him."

"Tame?" Crow said. His tone was monotonous but his eyes relayed some confusion.

"Yep! His name is Ares." Caira said as she petted the Goliath's head and he purred in contentment. Sunny and Slim were shocked. Crow kept his expression unreadable though his eyebrows were slightly raised. "Say hi."

" **Hello.** " Ares said and the room was quiet once again until a grin widened on Sunny's face.

"Totally cool!" Sunny shouted and she moved closer. "A talking Goliath!"

"How's that possible?" Slim asked.

"We're not sure how either." Bucket said but Caira remained quiet. She knew the reason why but she still hadn't told the others. If she did, they would definitely want to know how she found out. She told the Elder One that she would keep him and his pack a secret. Speaking of the sandstone-skinned creature, Caira wondered if he might know what was going on.

"How did you tame him?" Sunny asked as she petted the Goliath's head. Within Caira's presence, Ares didn't mind the young support's attention but he was very wary of Torvald. The assault was the only one to still have his weapon drawn and Ares growled even louder.

"You can put your shotgun away Torvald. As long as Caira's around, Ares isn't a threat." Cabot said but Torvald narrowed his eyes. Caira was retelling the story of how she met Ares to Sunny, Slim, and Crow.

"That Goliath is not an ally. We need to kill it before it kills us." Torvald said. Caira overheard his statement and glared at him.

"Hey, Ares won't hurt us. He's my friend." Caira said and Torvald returned her glare.

"That beast is not anyone's friend and thinking such a thing is both foolish and irresponsible." Ares snarled and his eyes started glowing. His rage was building.

" **You know nothing human! I will not stand here and let that insult towards her pass!** " Torvald was surprised at his response but quickly shook it off. This was just a ploy, a trap so this Goliath could strike at the appropriate time. In their sleep when they're all defenseless.

"Alright enough!" Cabot shouted. "This is not the time and definitely not the place!"

"He's right. Ease up Torvald." Slim said. Torvald remained silent and begrudgingly put his weapon away.

"Calm down Ares." Caira said. Ares snorted and walked away. The medic didn't know if that interaction was just as bad or worse than the one with Hyde.

"So, what happened down there exactly?" Cabot asked.

"There were a lot more eggs than usual but there was no monster to protect them." Griffin said.

"Then the eggs hatched." Bucket said and Cabot's eyes widened.

"All of them?"

"Not all. We destroyed a few." Caira said.

"The monsters came after us. The battle so far was glorious, but there were too many for even Markov." Markov said.

"It wasn't just one by one either. They hatched simultaneously." Bucket said. "This never happened with any of the eggs we destroyed before."

"We should investigate further. Are you sure there wasn't a monster around?" Slim asked. "One that hatched the eggs?"

"None. The monsters can't hatch an egg at such a distance that even our Goliath couldn't pick up their scent." Griffin said. Caira turned to where Ares left. He mentioned someone called 'Mother'. He must've been referring to the monster that laid and hatched those eggs.

"Does this 'Ares' know?" Crow asked and everyone looked at Caira.

"I don't know. He might." Caira said and she left the room to go talk to him.

* * *

Ares was laying down in the dropship hangar trying to keep his urge to kill Torvald down. He needed to think about something else and his mind wandered to the voice that he heard. It felt familiar. The word _Mother_ just slipped out his mouth and it felt odd but right. Like that was what he was supposed to refer to that voice as. He closed his eyes and tried to remember if he heard that voice before. His efforts bore fruit as he was brought back to when he was still inside his egg.

Flashback

 _A savage-skinned baby Goliath was floating in thick reddish-pink fluid in the fetal position inside of a large egg covered in rock armor on the outer layer. He was almost finished growing and would hatch very soon. Then the baby Goliath heard a voice inside his head._

'Sleep for a little longer my son. The time is almost upon you.'

 _What time? The Goliath twitched in his sleep. Its patience was already starting to wane._

'Be still my child. You still need to prepare.'

 _The Goliath calmed down and waited for a little longer as energy started to rise within his body._

'Almost there.'

 _The tension continued to build and the baby savage-skin needed a release. His tail twitched, his muscles tightened, and he started to glow red. Just a few more seconds and he will have enough power to break free and enter a new world._

Three...

 _His blood started to boil._

Two...

 _His body curled up tighter._

One...

 _His eyes snapped open._

Now!

 _The egg started cracking and suddenly, the baby Goliath burst from its prison. The fluid splattered everywhere and the fire beast let out a roar along with streams of fire. Two words appeared before the voice vanished._

 ** _Hunt. Kill._**

End Flashback

' _ **Mother.**_ ' Ares thought as his eyes slowly opened. The Goliath didn't know what kind of creature was behind the voice. He heard footsteps and lifted his head to see Caira walking towards him. She sat down next to him and leaned her body against his. Ares just watched and then curled his body around her.

"Is something wrong?" Caira asked.

" **When we were destroying the eggs, I heard a voice.** " Ares said.

"I didn't hear anything."

" **It was in my head.** "

"You did say _Mother_ though it was so low I barely heard it." Caira said and she petted his head. "Do you know who it is that hatched those eggs?"

" **Sorry but I do not.** " Ares said as he nuzzled into Caira's hand. " **All I know is that she is my mother. I have not seen how she looks but I recognize her voice.** "

"Could it be a Wraith?" Caira was talking more to herself than to Ares.

" **I am not sure. I do not think it is.** "

"Yeah, it doesn't sound like it could be. From all the Wraith carcasses I've studied, they don't have any reproductive organs and there aren't any other female monsters." Caira took another moment to think. "At least, that we know of."

" **What do you want to do?** " Ares asked and Caira smiled when she thought of something.

"What about Atlas? Would he know what laid those eggs?" Ares smiled as much as he could. The Stage-Three Behemoth held an air of wisdom and had lived for a very long time. Though there was also a chance that Atlas didn't know who laid the eggs either but they had to ask anyway. The problem now was if they should tell Cabot and the others about the Behemoth and his pack.

* * *

Meanwhile, Atlas was sitting next to a fire he made with his Lava Bomb. He could feel it. Something was happening and it was big. The voice in his head spoke to him but it was distant and didn't hold as much sway over him as he thought it would.

" **So, _she_ has finally decided to jump off the sidelines and take action.** " Atlas said to himself as his blue eyes stared into the fire. Then the wendigo-skinned Kraken and magma-skinned Wraith walked in.

" **Elder One, what's going on?** " The Wraith asked. " **There's a voice in our heads.** "

" **It has the others on edge as well. No one knows where it's coming from.** " The Kraken said and the Elder One closed his eyes with a sigh. " **Who's talking to us?** "

" **That...is our mother.** " Atlas said and the two Stage-Two monsters glanced at each other. " **And what she wants is simple. It was built into us since the day we all hatched.** "

 _ **Kill.**_

 _ **Kill all humans.**_

* * *

And there's part one of the expansion! Read and Review! I'll see you guys next time! :)


	7. Scourge of the Broodmother Part 2

Welcome to part two of my Evolve expansion! I will answer a couple questions someone has asked me.

Guest: I honestly have no idea if there is an origin story behind Elder Kraken or if they just named the Kraken variation that because it sounds good. I looked it up but haven't found anything canon about him. However, I do plan to use Elder Kraken in this story but it's not until much later. As for Val, I completely forgot about that. I'll see what I can do.

Anyway, please enjoy this brand new chapter :)

* * *

 **Ares was standing in the middle of nowhere covered in a shroud of darkness. This was different than the memories that he received from the humans he ate. There was just the nothingness. Then the scent of blood reached his nose and his mouth watered at the potential meal. He recognized the smell as human blood and paused. He was sure that Caira wouldn't want him to eat them so he forced himself back.**

 **"Why do you do that?" A female voice asked. It was everywhere yet nowhere. He recognized it as his mother.**

 **"Do what?" Ares asked.**

 **"Hold yourself back my son. You are hungry, you should eat."**

 **"B-But.."**

 **"Do not let a human dictate what you can and cannot do. You are no one's pet." His mother did have a point. As much as he liked Caira, she really had no right to tell him what he couldn't eat. Wait, where did that thought come from? He couldn't deny the truth of that statement though.**

 **"I was never told I could not eat humans."**

 **"Do you really think she would approve of it?"**

 **"You make it sound like I _have_ to eat them. I do not." His mother hissed at him.**

 **"It is in your nature to hunt and kill. That human is trying to change who you are. You must realize that."**

* * *

Ares woke up and glanced around at his surroundings. Everything was quiet outside his cave home. The Goliath shook his head and stood on two legs. His mother had spoken to him but didn't call him a traitor this time. His mind wandered back to what she said. Was Caira really trying to change him into something that he wasn't and could never be? That led to another question. Caira told him that she wanted to learn more about him. She called it 'research' but what did that really mean? Ares walked over to a river and stared into its shallow depths. Doubts started to surface in his head. Who should he believe? Caira was his friend but that voice was his mother. He felt a certain loyalty towards both of them and that conflicted him.

' ** _I do not know what to do._** ' Ares thought.

' _So, will you let that human control you?_ ' His mother's voice rang in his head again.

' _ **What? No! No one controls me!**_ ' His beast blood boiled at the mere sound of that word. Control.

' _Does not seem that way to me. You are being controlled by those humans._ ' Ares growled.

' ** _And why should I believe you?_** ' The voice sighed.

' _Because I am your mother. You just being your true self benefits me as well as you. The humans on the other hand want you under their control._ '

' _ **And if I do not want to be?**_ '

' _Then they will kill you. Well, try to anyway._ ' Ares didn't say anything else after that. He had observed humans before and had a few hunters try to track him down. The Goliath even saw them kill many of his kind. Was what his mother said really so farfetched? She seemed to have sensed his doubt and spoke up again. ' _If you are still unsure then allow me to prove it to you. I will guide you there myself._ '

The savage-skinned monster was hesitant at first but followed his mother's directions. After an hour, he stopped in his tracks. The fire beast had heard a loud screeching sound.

" **That sounds like..a Wraith.** " Ares said to himself. " **And she is in pain.** "

The Goliath started running towards the sound and nothing could've prepared him for what he had seen. There was a Stage-Three Wraith contained in a see-through tube-like chamber in bright orange fluid. She was flailing around and Ares could see the terrible amount of agony she was in. For a while, Ares couldn't move. He continued to watch in the shadows.

" **W-What is this?** " Ares asked out loud.

' _This is what those humans do when they want to_ research _our kind. My poor child-your older sister-is being subjected to such despicable torture._ '

' ** _But why? Learning about us should not be this way! Do the humans not see that she is in so much pain?_** ' His mother sighed.

' _Oh they see it._ ' Ares was confused.

' _ **Then why?**_ '

' _Simple. They do not care._ ' Ares backed away a little at that revelation. ' _If they did care, then she would not still be in there suffering. They could just kill her._ '

' ** _Kill?_** '

' _Indeed. After all, our existence is a threat to them. If they cannot control us, they will destroy us. They want her powers._ ' Something clicked in the Goliath's mind and his eyes started glowing. A growl escaped his throat and rage began to build at a fast pace in his blood. ' _I am sure that human of yours already knew about this and something tells me you are next._ '

' _ **Caira..lied to me.**_ ' His rage was reaching a boiling point.

' _So, what will you do now my son?_ '

" **I will make them pay!** " Ares shouted and released a loud roar.

"W-What was that?" A researcher asked and he took a look outside the window. His eyes widened when he saw a Stage-Two savage-skinned Goliath clawing at the Wraith trap trying to break the machine. It started slamming his body into it and several cracks appeared. "S-Someone stop it! We need this research to help save thousands of lives!"

Ares managed to punch a hole in the thick glass and some orange fluid started to spill out.

' _Good my son. Do not let any of those humans stop you from protecting our race._ ' The Goliath heard footsteps running towards him and turned to see several Ebonstar mercenaries wielding their weapons. Ares roared in anger at their presence and shot his Fire Breath at them.

* * *

Caira was walking to the Briefing Room by herself. She hadn't seen Ares for quite a while and she starting to get a little worried. They had planned to go see Atlas sometime soon.

"What's wrong now Cabot?" Caira asked.

"There's a Goliath attacking the Wraith Trap." Cabot said and Caira looked around. She was surprised to see only herself, Abe, Parnell, and Cabot in the room. She soon got her answer when Parnell spoke up.

"The researchers said it's a Stage-Two savage-skinned Goliath." The medic already saw what he was getting at.

"No, it can't be Ares. He's not the only savage-skinned Goliath out there."

"But he is the only one with a blue scarf around his arm." Abe said. Cabot replayed the video feed and Caira's eyes widened. There was Ares and he was killing people.

' _Oh no._ ' Caira thought and she turned to leave.

"Wait." Cabot commanded and she stopped in her tracks. "We're going as well."

"We're not gonna hurt him right?" Cabot sighed.

"That depends on you. You have to stop him and keep him under control. Or else.." Nothing else needed to be said. Caira understood completely.

* * *

Ares crushed an Ebonstar mercenary under his foot and one last punch broke the Wraith free from her prison. She weakly picked herself up using her scythes and slowly floated away. The Goliath calmly watched her leave and snorted some black smoke out of his nostrils.

"Ares!" A familiar voice shouted and he growled again. Ares now found himself face to face with Caira and he knew she wasn't pleased. He could sense it.

' _Of course she is not pleased. You are thinking for yourself. You are breaking out of her control over you._ '

"Ares, what are you doing?" Caira asked but he didn't say anything at first. Ares glanced at the other three hunters.

" **Is this what will become of me?** " Ares asked and Caira wasn't sure what he was talking about. Then the Goliath pointed to the destroyed chamber and the hunters gasped. The Wraith that was captured was now gone.

"You freed it." Parnell said it more like a statement than a question.

" **I did.** " Ares said.

"Why the hell would you do that?" Abe asked and Ares growled even louder.

" **Is it not obvious?** " The hunters looked at each other. " **I saved her.** "

"Saved?"

" **She was suffering in agony as more humans did _research_ on her.** " Now Caira understood what Ares meant earlier. The Goliath looked at her. " **Did you know about this?** "

"A-Ares-"

" **Did you know or not?!** " Caira remained quiet and Ares looked at the other three. " **Did all of you know?** "

"Yeah, we did." Parnell said and Ares snarled.

" **So this is what will become of me.** "

"No! Of course not!" Caira shouted. "You're my friend Ares. I wouldn't let anything like this happen to you!"

" **But you would for others like me.** " The Goliath narrowed his eyes when the medic didn't say anything.

"Look Ares just calm down and let's talk this out." Cabot said and the Goliath growled.

' _See, that human wants to order you around. He wants to dominate you._ ' It was one word. That one word that sent Ares over the edge. **Dominate**.

Domination was a very familiar feeling. It was a part of him before he even knew what to call it. It was something he participated in everyday. Everytime he fought dangerous wildlife, it wasn't just to survive. Ares wanted to show that he was stronger. That no one would have any kind of hold over him. Now it made sense. He had allowed Caira to have such a hold over him!

' _Only the strong can dominate over the weak. A strong Goliath like you should not let weak humans like them dominate over you._ ' His mother said and the Goliath's instincts kicked in.

" **I do not take orders from you human! I do whatever I want!** " Ares roared and tore the blue scarf off of his arm. Then he leaped away.

"Well this fucking sucks." Abe said.

"Looks like we'll have to kill him now." Cabot said and Caira turned to him.

"You can't be serious boss!" Cabot turned to her.

"He's no longer under your control Caira. He's gone back to being a threat to us. We need to stop him." Caira quickly tried to think of something. What was going on with Ares? How did he find out about all this? There was only one person who might be able to help her with this problem.

"Cabot, let me take care of this."

"Caira-" The medic cut him off.

"Please, just let me handle this." Cabot didn't say anything and he glanced at Parnell and Abe. The two just shrugged and the support sighed.

"Alright. I hope you know what you're doing." Caira smiled in gratitude and took off on her jetpack.

* * *

Caira made haste over to the caverns where Atlas and his pack lived in seclusion. She rushed through the entrance and looked around for the Behemoth leader. The air was different here today. There weren't many monsters outside their caves this time and there was some tension in the atmosphere.

" **Caira?** " A deep voice grabbed the young woman's attention. She saw the sandstone-skinned Behemoth calmly walk over to her. Whatever was going on didn't seem to affect him nearly as much as the others. Atlas however, could tell that something was wrong with the female human. " **I don't see Ares with you. Is something wrong?** "

"Atlas, I really need your help. It's about Ares." Caira said and the Elder One gestured for her to follow him to his cave. The medic sat on the same boulder as last time. She told Atlas everything that happened between herself and Ares and the Behemoth closed his eyes in thought.

" **The root of the problem is simple..or at least it _was_ until it spiraled out of control**." Atlas said.

"What do you mean?"

" **Stage-Two is the equivalent of what you humans call adolescence. He's basically a teenager and he's going through a rebellious phase.** " Caira looked dumbfounded and Atlas opened his eyes. " **He's gotten more aggressive.** "

"Are Goliaths naturally aggressive?"

" **I wouldn't say that. They're surely more susceptible to rage but most of their aggression is based on dominance and to them, strength equals dominance.** "

"Please tell me you don't mean physical strength." Caira deadpanned and Atlas chuckled.

" **Well amongst other Goliaths that does play a part. However because of the bond you share with him, you don't need physical strength. What you need to use is your mental strength.** "

"Really?" Atlas nodded.

" **You need to be calm and assertive. Doing so will settle him down enough so you can get him to listen to reason. Right now Ares is lost and has little sense of mental stability because he can't find the balance that he needs.** "

"Oh." Caira understood now.

" **What he needs is someone to help him find that balance or else his instincts will force him back into the state he was in before he met you. That wouldn't be such a huge problem if he wasn't a savage-skinned Goliath.** "

"So the color of their scales matter after all."

" **Indeed. There's a reason why humans call the ones with his color palette 'savage'. The grey-skinned versions of our kind have no control over their actions. The savage-skinned however, their actions are entirely intentional.** "

"So they do know what they're doing." Atlas nodded.

" **Most of us are fine leaving some humans alive but the savage-skinned are not. We kill when we have to but they kill whenever they want.** " Caira sighed.

"I have my work cut out for me then. Great." Atlas smirked as much as he could.

" **It's not all bad. Since his brain has evolved it'll be easier to convince him...or at least it would've been our mother hadn't decided to interfere.** " That actually reminded the medic of another big situation at hand. Before Caira could say anything, the wendigo-skinned Kraken entered the den.

" **Elder One! Humans approach the caverns!** " The Kraken shouted and the Behemoth narrowed his ice blue eyes. Caira checked her mini-map and her eyes widened when she saw several red, yellow, green, and blue dots converging onto her location. Atlas curled into a ball and rolled out the cave. The medic leaped to her feet and followed him out.

"Holy fucking shit!" Abe shouted as he and the other hunters had their weapons raised towards the monsters. They weren't outnumbered individually but they were as a group since it took four of them to kill only one monster.

"We need to retreat." Cabot said but as soon as he said that, a large rock wall appeared and blocked one of their escape routes. A couple Krakens flew in the air and blocked the giant hole in the roof. Then a Stage-Three sandstone-skinned Behemoth rolled over and changed back to normal.

" **You humans aren't going anywhere. Now that you have found us, we have to kill you.** " Atlas said in an apathetic tone.

' _Yes! Do it! Kill them all!_ ' His mother's voice echoed in his head but the Behemoth ignored it. Though it wasn't without effort.

"Atlas wait!" Caira shouted as she landed in between the humans and monsters.

"Caira, what's the meaning of this?!" Torvald shouted.

"What the hell are you doing with those monsters?!" Maggie shouted.

"Look I came here for Atlas' help. Not just with Ares but with someone he called mother." Caira said and that caught Atlas' attention. The medic turned to him. "We ran into big trouble with an army of eggs hatching simultaneously and Ares heard someone in his head."

" **Yes. Our mother.** " Atlas said and the rest of the hunters turned to him. " **She has decided to involve herself in our struggle against you.** "

"I still can't believe there's more that can talk." Val said.

"This is so cool!" Sunny shouted and Atlas looked at the hunters.

" **Why have you humans trespassed here? Speak up now or you all will die.** " Atlas said.

"Bring it on ya big fucker." Hyde said with a psychotic grin and the Behemoth narrowed his eyes.

"Shut the hell up Hyde!" Caira shouted and that got the attention of everyone. "Right now, we need Atlas' help against whatever is laying all those eggs."

"Atlas?" Parnell asked confused.

"Me." The hunters looked at the Behemoth. "Caira gave me that name."

"Seriously?" Maggie asked annoyed. The magma-skinned Wraith floated over to Atlas.

" _Growls_..( **Elder One, we have to kill them before they bring more of their kind here.** )" The Wraith said in their monster language.

" _Growl_.( **Not right now. We'll see what they want first.** )"

" _Snarls_.( **They want to destroy us!** )" Atlas turned to her and snarled louder.

" _Snarls_..( **We wait!** )" The Wraith hissed but said nothing else.

* * *

The hunters were gathered around by the lake along with the other monsters. Atlas was in the middle separating both parties along with Caira. The monsters were behind the Behemoth and the hunters were behind the medic.

"This is ridiculous Cabot. We need to eliminate all these monsters now." Torvald said.

"Now is not a good time to say that out loud." Slim said.

"Nope." Crow agreed.

"So, do you know what's going on Atlas?" Griffin asked.

" **Indeed. Like I said before, our mother has decided to interfere with our ongoing battle against you humans. She's the one who's laying the eggs.** "

"What is she?" Lazarus asked.

"Who gives a fuck what she is? Where the fuck is she?" Hyde asked but Atlas shook his head.

" **No one knows what she looks like. However, finding out where she is located is a bit tricky. She can't be found normally and she's not on this planet.** "

"Then how are these eggs popping up here?" Slim asked.

"I believe the armor coating the eggs protect them from inter-dimensional travel." Caira said and Atlas nodded.

"So she must be located in another dimension." Sunny said.

" **Indeed.** "

' _What do you think you're doing?!_ ' Atlas winced at the small headache from how loud his mother's voice shouted.

"That still doesn't really tell us where she is." Parnell said.

"Even if we did know, we have no way of getting there." Bucket said. "The ship is not equipped for inter-dimensional travel."

" **I'll look into it and see what we can do.** " Atlas said and the hunters looked at him in both shock and confusion. Why was this Behemoth so willing to turn on his own mother? Then the Elder One turned to Caira. " **However, there is something _you_ must do first.** "

"Ares." Caira understood and Atlas closed his eyes. Everyone stared at him and he suddenly growled.

" **What's wrong Elder One?** " A Stage-Three bog-skinned Goliath asked but Atlas shook his head.

" **Later.** " Atlas took down his rock wall. " **You humans are free to go. However, if I sense that you've become a threat to us once again, we will kill you.** "

Before Torvald, Maggie, and Hyde could say anything, Cabot signaled for everyone to leave. Caira was about to follow her comrades out but Atlas' voice stopped her.

" **Be patient with him Caira. Our mother may have influenced him and he's largely conflicted over who to trust. He currently resides at what you humans have named the Broken Hill Mine.** " Caira nodded and left the cavern.

* * *

Elsewhere in the shadows a monster was growling in anger. Another child of hers had betrayed her and what's worse was that he was much more resistant to her influence than the others. Ares was coming around but this confliction he still held was bothersome.

" **For now, I'll observe what happens next. If they manage to move any closer towards me, then I will send my more obedient children to keep them in line. They will learn not to defy their mother's will. Especially that Behemoth.** "

* * *

Well I hope you enjoyed this chapter and the way things are going so far. Read and Review and I'll see you guys next time! :)


	8. Scourge of the Broodmother Part 3

It's been quite a while my dear readers but I have returned with another lovely chapter for you all to enjoy. Well don't let me get in the way :) *disappears into the night*

* * *

Caira flew on her jetpack to Broken Hill Mine. She glanced back and saw Sunny, Crow and Parnell. The medic thought back to when they decided to come along.

Flashback

 _"Caira! Where are you going?" Cabot asked as he saw her prepare to leave._

 _"I'm going to Broken Hill Mine. Ares is there and I need to talk to him." Caira said._

 _"Are you sure that's a good idea? Going by yourself I mean." Griffin said._

 _"Yeah I'm the only one Ares will listen to..hopefully."_

 _"I'll go with you." Parnell said._

 _"Parnell-" The assault raised a hand and cut her off._

 _"It's too dangerous for you to go alone. We can't have you running into any large wildlife like a tyrant."_

 _"I'll go too." Sunny said and Crow nodded as well._

 _"Thanks guys" Caira said with a smile._

 _"Keep in touch. All of you." Cabot said. The four hunters nodded and departed for Broken Hill Mine._

End Flashback

"Crow will set a dome around you and Ares so he won't try to escape." Parnell said but Caira shook her head.

"I don't think that's necessary. Ares won't run away."

"How'd you know?" Sunny asked.

"Because he has no reason to run this time." Caira said. "I won't give him one."

The other three hunters could sense the determination in her voice. She definitely cared about the Goliath even though a month hadn't passed since the two first met. Parnell smiled. If their bond was this strong now it would get even stronger in the future. Caira wouldn't let a fight like this break her friendship with Ares, especially since they're the only human and monster to form such a bond. He could only hope Ares felt the same deep down.

They had finally arrived in Broken Hill Mine and the place was just as messy as before. Crow sent out Gobi to find the savage-skinned Goliath and they followed a little ways behind. They occasionally stopped as the batray searched a couple caves but continued when Gobi returned with no luck. Crow sent the batray out one more time and it screeched when it found their target. A outline of a Goliath appeared on their minimaps and they flew towards the entrance of the final cave.

"Alright Caira, we'll stay right here. Go on ahead." Parnell said.

"Be careful." Crow said as Gobi perched itself onto his shoulder.

"Good luck." Sunny said and Caira smiled in thanks as she walked away.

' _All you need is mental strength. Be calm and assertive and Ares will listen._ ' Atlas' words of advice replayed in the medic's head as she approached the Goliath. He was eating a few human corpses and Caira winced but took a deep breath once Ares noticed her. Red eyes met brown and the Goliath growled at her presence. Caira knew Ares smelled her scent when she entered the cave and the scents of the other three.

"Ares, we need to talk." Caira said.

" **And why should I listen to you? Humans are known for lying to get what they want.** " Ares said.

"Not all of us are like that."

" **And you expect me to believe that?** "

"I don't." Ares' eyes widened. "I just want you to listen to me. And I mean _just_ you."

" **Just me?** " Caira sighed.

"I know your mother has been talking to you in your head." Ares narrowed his eyes but remained silent. Something was different about her though he couldn't figure out what it was. The fire beast thought his rage would build from her presence but it didn't. "Just listen to what I have to say and you can make your own conclusions from there."

' _Do not listen to that pitiful human! Kill her!_ ' His mother commanded but Ares didn't move. There was something in Caira's eyes that he could see. He shook his head. No, he couldn't let her regain a hold over him.

Caira could see a small amount of struggling and took out her grenade launcher. Hopefully this move will buy her is undivided attention. Ares saw the medic take out her weapon and snarled but what she did next caught the Goliath completely off guard. She threw her grenade launcher to the side and it slid several feet away. Ares watched the weapon stop sliding in complete shock and turned his attention back to Caira.

" **Why? Why would you..** " Ares trailed off and Caira met his eyes with hers.

"When we first met, I told you I wouldn't hurt you. I'm just keeping my word." Caira said. Ares couldn't believe she had the strength to abandon her weapon and continue to face him. There was a fire in her eyes that burned with determination. She would see this through and showed no fear of death. The Goliath was impressed and even his mother remained silent at the display. Then Caira continued. "I did know about the Wraith Trap but not as long as you think. My team and I were hired to hunt down a Wraith but a containment chamber was already built to contain it. Ebonstar captured it and it wasn't until later that we found out what it was for."

" **But you let it happen.** " Ares said.

"What would you have me do then Ares? I wasn't in a position to do anything."

' _She is lying. Do not listen._ ' Ares growled.

' ** _Be quiet mother._** '

"I'm not as strong as you are Ares. There's only so much I can do." Caira stared at the ground as she said that but took another breath and looked at him. "But I won't let that happen to you. You're my friend Ares, and I'll protect you as much as I can."

For awhile Ares remained silent and Caira watched him look at the pile of half eaten human corpses. The Goliath didn't know what to say. He knew that Cabot was the leader of the hunters but even he answered to someone of a higher rank. So he understood that Caira most likely wouldn't have a say in what happens. Plus, he didn't know the whole story. What if the Wraith attacked the humans first? That still didn't give them the excuse to torture her but he shouldn't hold it against Caira for the actions of others. He was so fueled up by rage that he rashly acted out but that was his nature as a Goliath...right?

"I'm sorry I kept this from you." Caira said but Ares shook his head.

" **No, I should apologize to you. I lost myself to rage and acted out when I should not have.** " Ares said and Caira's eyes widened. He had calmed down since their argument at the Wraith Trap. The Goliath could still feel that her presence continued to have a calming effect on him but it was more potent now.

' _You can not honestly believe this human!_ '

' _ **Enough mother!**_ ' The voice hissed in anger.

' _She continues to have a hold over you! Get rid of her!_ '

' _Actually she's more of an anchor._ ' A new voice entered the Goliath's head.

' _ **Atlas?**_ ' ares asked.

' _Indeed. I've decided to reopen my connection to the Hive Mind of our species and lend my assistance._ ' Atlas said.

' _ **Hive Mind?**_ '

' _Later. Right now just listen to Caira. She's your anchor._ '

' _Stop this right now!_ ' Their mother shouted and Ares winced in pain but Atlas ignored her.

' _ **Anchor?**_ '

' _Indeed. It means she can keep you grounded and in control of yourself. Don't listen to our mother._ '

' _No! You are wrong! Do not interfere!_ '

' _ **Stop! Both of you!**_ ' Atlas and their mother grew silent and Ares continued to think. Was Caira really telling the truth? " **Just leave me alone!** "

Caira was taken aback by the Goliath's sudden shouting though she did detect a hint of pain within that verbal burst of anger. His mother must be talking to him and doing so wouldn't allow him to concentrate. He wouldn't be able to think for himself. The medic took step closer but Ares moved back.

"What's wrong?" Ares shook his head.

" **Everyone is talking to me at once. I do not know who to believe or what to think.** " Caira watched as Ares gripped his head. He wasn't in pain but he was attempting to block out all sound so he could regain is bearings. Despite that though, the medic moved closer to him. She saw what Atlas was talking about. Ares was trying to hold on to any stability that he may or may not even have.

' _You must be that anchor that will keep him grounded._ '

Caira was worried about him but she needed to calm down. Feeling worried wasn't going to help him; being calm and assertive is what he needed from her. The young woman moved closer and the Goliath moved back again but this time Caira didn't stop. Ares continued to back away until his tail hit the wall. Without knowing what to do, he started to turn to his instincts for help. His eyes started glowing and he let out a loud growl.

"I'm only here to help you Ares. If you don't believe me, then kill me." Ares' eyes widened when she said that. This was something he never expected to hear her say and both his mind and instincts could sense the strength behind her words. No human had faced him with such determination and no visible fear of him without their weapons. Caira was completely defenseless but was standing before him like she didn't need her grenade launcher. As if she was stronger than him.

" **You are willing to risk your life..for me to believe you?** " Caira smiled.

"If I have to then I will." The glowing in the Goliath's eyes faded and he felt himself calming down.

' _No! Do not listen!_ ' His mother shouted but Ares ignored her.

' _Believe her Ares. No human would do what she's doing now if she didn't care. Especially one who's job is to hunt our kind._ ' Atlas said and Ares knew the Behemoth had a point. Caira moved closer again and held a hand out towards him. The Goliath stared at it for a minute and slowly moved his head closer. Once her fingers made contact with his head, Ares purred. Her was just as gentle as when they first met. Caira smiled brightly as she petted him. He had picked her over his own mother! Ares nuzzled into her had and his red eyes met her brown ones.

" **I..I am sorry Caira.** " Ares said and he looked away. " **I should not have acted like that.** "

"You don't have anything to be sorry for." Caira said. "Weeeeell, maybe except for all those people you killed."

" **I-** " Caira held up a hand and cut the fire beast off.

"But maybe that's my fault too. We became friends over such a short period of time that I even forgot what you were." Ares looked at her confused.

" **What do you mean?** " Caira sighed.

"I humanized you." Ares tilted his head and she continued. "Basically, I treated you like you were human when I really shouldn't have and tried to make you live up to a standard that did more harm than good."

" **I-I see.** " Caira petted his head again.

"Buuut, I'll be sure not to make that same mistake again." Ares wagged his tail. Sensing Caira acting like herself but in a more calming way, he couldn't help but be drawn to her even more. "Come on, let's get out of here."

" **Sure.** "

' _I will not let you._ ' Ares gripped his head as his mother's eerily calm voice echoed in his mind. ' _It seems now that you are too far gone within the corruption of those humans. If I can not save you from them then you shall die with them._ '

Suddenly, Ares removed his hands and felt the ground start to tremble slightly. His instincts were telling him that danger was approaching.

"Caira! We got big trouble outside!" Parnell shouted as Sunny, Crow, and himself flew over on their jetpacks.

"What's going on?" Caira asked.

"Monsters coming this way." Crow said.

"A whole small army of them!" Sunny said and Ares looked towards the entrance.

" **Mother sent them.** "

"We need to find another route out of here before we're surrounded." Parnell said.

' _I'm on my way._ ' Atlas said and he cut the mental connection.

"Something wrong Ares?" Sunny asked when she noticed the Goliath staring blankly.

" **Atlas is on his way here to help.** " Ares said.

"Let's hurry." Caira said and the group left the cave. Ares stopped them before they could move any further and took a deep breath. He could smell the scents of several of his kind moving through the main passageway.

" **They are already spreading out past the main entrance into the other caves. They will be upon us soon.** "

"Gobi!" Crow commanded his batray to search through another exit near them. The batray screeched as it detected more monsters moving towards them. They started running through another passageway until they arrived at the relay room. Several grey-skinned Stage-One Goliaths started to pour into the room. The hunters took out their weapons and Ares stood tall on his two legs. He let out a roar and the other Goliaths stopped moving. The hunters looked surprised until they saw a Stage-Two magma-skinned Wraith appear behind the small Goliath army.

" **You didn't really think they would stop because of you right?** " The Wraith mocked.

" **You!** " Ares snarled. It was the same magma-skinned Wraith from Atlas' pack.

" **Yes me. You and Atlas are too soft! These humans and their fancy technology need to be destroyed! Our mother sees that you and that Behemoth have been blinded! Your foolish decisions will get us all killed!** " The Wraith shouted.

"Please tell me we have a plan." Sunny said. Caira looked around but wasn't able to find another exit.

"We'll need the dropship to escape at this point." Caira said and Parnell messaged Bucket to bring the dropship. As soon as the Stage-Two Wraith signaled for the Goliath army to attack, a giant sandy-brown rock in the shape of a ball crashed to the ground in between the Goliath army and the hunters. It unrolled to reveal a Stage-Three sandstone-skinned Behemoth with six ice blue eyes. It was Atlas! The Behemoth punched the ground and a large rock wall shot up from the ground in front of them.

"Right on time Atlas." Caira said with a smile. "Though, I don't think you alone can help us get out of this."

" **I would beg to differ. When is that ship of yours coming?** " Atlas asked and the rock wall already started to crumble as the grey-skinned Goliaths started to climb over it. The dropship finally appeared high above the relay room but it was too dangerous for the ship to go any lower.

"I don't think our jetpacks have enough fuel for us to reach the ship." Crow said.

" **I'll use my Tongue Grab.** " The hunters looked at the Behemoth. He actually wanted them to climb up his tongue to reach their dropship. Sunny and Caira cringed a little. The idea of scaling up his slimy tongue was a bit gross but it was their best option they currently had. The Wraith burst through the weakened rock wall and Ares moved in the way to block her. The Goliath blocked a sideway slash from her with his forearm. Ares had enough armor to withstand a few attacks from this Wraith but only for a few minutes, and that was only if she didn't use her Super Nova. Then a few Goliaths jumped on his back. Ares roared as he knocked a couple to the ground but more replaced them.

"Ares!" Caira shouted and the savage-skin glanced at her.

" **Go Caira!** "

"But Ares-" Ares snarled as he threw a Goliath into a wall and backhanded another one. Then his eyes started glowing.

" **Go!** " Atlas climbed up the relay tower and shot his Tongue Grab. It wrapped vertically around the small end of one of the dropship's wings. Sunny and Crow had already started climbing.

"This is so cool but gross at the same time." Sunny said. Parnell decided to climb last and turned to Caira.

"Hurry up Caira! We need to get the hell out of here!" Parnell shouted.

" **Go humans. Ares and I will handle this.** " Atlas said or that's what Caira and Parnell could make out what the Behemoth was saying. The medic looked back at Ares, who was fighting the Wraith, and nodded at Parnell. They both started climbing up Atlas' tongue and they managed to reach the halfway point when a couple Goliaths jumped on the Behemoth. Ares was too busy holding off the Wraith to help.

" **Hurry!** " Atlas shouted and the two hunters used their jetpacks to carry them the rest of the way to the dropship. Atlas retracted his tongue back into his mouth and knocked the Goliaths off his back. Then he heard Ares roar in pain and turned to see the Wraith slash the savage-skin on his chest. Ares blasted his Fire Breath at her but she warped out of the way and activated her Warp Blast. The force of it knocked Ares backwards a few feet and he hit the ground with a loud thud. His armor depleted a few minutes ago and blood was now flowing freely from his wounds. The Wraith had a couple injuries but not as much as Ares. The Stage-Two Goliath looked up and saw the dropship leave.

' _ **At least Caira is safe.**_ ' Ares thought and saw Atlas jump down from the relay tower.

" **This is your fault Goliath.** " The Wraith said as she pointed one of her scythes at him. " **You brought those humans to our den. You will pay for your betrayal first!** "

" **Enough!** " Atlas shouted. He used his Tongue Grab and it wrapped around one of the Wraith's arms. The behemoth pulled back and the Wraith went flying into a wall. " **Ares, I will handle this Wraith. Hold the other Goliaths back.** "

" **Easier said than done.** " Ares said as he picked himself up.

" **I knew you possessed hatred for humans and as such, I'm not surprised you took our mother's words to heart. You will face me.** " Atlas said and the magma-skinned Wraith hissed in annoyance. " **You know as well as I that your decoy is useless against me.** "

" **I won't need it.** " The Wraith sharpened her scythes and rushed forward. Atlas, in his old age, had faced quite a few Wraiths before. The Behemoth threw up a rock wall just in time for her to run right into it. Atlas thrust his huge hand straight threw the wall and grabbed the Wraith by her neck. The wall crumbled away and he threw her into one of the Stage-One Goliaths. His exposed belly started glowing and he shot a Lava Bomb at them. The Wraith was quick enough to warp out of the way but the grey-skinned Goliath wasn't so lucky. It roared in pain as the lava burned through its scales ad Ares landed a Leap Smash on it. Its red blood turned black as it convulsed and died.

Atlas slammed his hands to the ground and a fissure shot straight through a couple Goliaths as it made its way towards the Wraith. She warped out of the way and activated her Super Nova. The Behemoth crossed his arms in an X-shape and took the attack head on but his armor was depleting fast. Another Lava Bomb was boiling in his mouth and as soon as the Super Nova ended, it burst from his mouth. The Wraith shrieked in pain as the attack made contact with her body. Atlas looked to Ares and saw that he was getting weaker.

' _ **There is still too many of them.**_ ' Ares thought with a growl. He was holding a hand to his chest in an effort to stop the bleeding. There were bite wounds on his forearms and leg, scratches on the parts of his neck that weren't armored, and some burns on his back. The savage-skin growled again as he grabbed a Goliath by its neck and choke-slammed it to the ground. He tailsweeped another Goliath and crushed its skull under his foot. He shot his Fire Breath at another group but one lone Goliath leaped over the fire and tackled Ares to the ground. The grey-skinned Goliath started claw swiping at Ares' wounds and the savage-skin roared in pain. Ares kicked it off of his body and it flew straight into a wall. A large puddle of blood pooled under Ares.

' ** _Not good._** ' Atlas thought. He curled into a ball and rolled over to his Goliath ally. The Behemoth managed to come up with a plan but he couldn't use the Mind Hive to tell Ares or else their mother and the Wraith would hear it. There weren't anymore Goliaths blocking one of the exits but that Wraith won't let them leave as long as she was alive. He uncurled once he reached Ares and raised a rock wall. " **Ares, there is an exit clear of opposition but we must kill the Wraith first.** "

" **What do you suggest then?** " Ares asked as the Wraith started slashing at the wall.

" **Run!** " Atlas shouted as he curled into a ball and started rolling for the exit. Ares stood up as quickly as he could and leaped after Atlas. The Wraith broke through the wall and hissed in anger.

' _Do not let the get away!_ ' Their mother shouted.

' _ **I won't mother.**_ ' The Wraith replied and she warped after them.

Ares followed the Behemoth through the caves as fast as his inured body would allow. He could hear the Wraith warping closer to them and blew his Fire Breath in the direction she was coming from. However, she warped through the fire and pinned Ares to the wall with her scythes. The blades tore through his arms and he roared in pain. Then a fissure appeared and knocked the Wraith away from Ares. Atlas came rolling through the corridor and unfurled next to him.

" **Go Ares. I'll deal with her.** " Atlas said and the Goliath looked at him.

" **But, what about the other Goliaths? There are still more.** " Ares said.

" **You underestimate me young one. I'm no stranger to fighting while being outnumbered. Besides, I have the advantage within caves.** " Atlas said and Ares stared at him for a moment before nodding. He dropped down to all fours and continued through the tunnel exit. Just as Atlas watched the Goliath leave, the Wraith warped back into the room.

" **I've had enough of you Behemoth.** " The Wraith said and Atlas snorted.

" **So no more calling me Elder One? Very well then.** " Atlas said. The Wraith lunged forward and used her Warp Bast. Atlas took the hit and only had a little armor left. The Behemoth quickly used his Tongue Grab and pulled her towards him. He swung his fist towards her but she warped out of the way. The Wraith made a slash and her scythe went into his exposed stomach. Atlas growled in pain but swiftly stepped on her tail and tendril legs. She shrieked in pain as the bones in her tendril legs and tail were crushed. A huge hand grabbed ahold of her neck, slammed her to the ground, and Atlas towered over her with his blue eyes glowing. " **I warned you a long time ago that you're too brash. You always tried to rush into a fight when that's not what Wraiths should do. Your armor vanished early in the fight but you still continued when you should've fled.** "

" **Damn you. Our mother will have her vengeance realized and both you and that Goliath will die with your precious humans!** " The Wraith shouted and Atlas narrowed his eyes before he shot a Lava Bomb directly on her head. She shrieked and flailed wildly as the lava burned through her flesh and the Behemoth applied pressure onto her neck. A loud crack echoed and the Wraith didn't move any longer. Atlas removed his hand and sighed.

" **What our mother wants will start a war with the humans. I don't know how many of them there are but such an outcome must be avoided.** " Atlas said. He put up a rock wall to block the other Goliaths, curled into a ball, and exited the mine.

* * *

Ares trekked across the forests of the Fusion Plant and sat by a river. He winced as his movements pulled at his wounds and bent down for a drink of some nice cold water. He didn't know where the dropship took Caira and her team but he wasn't going to try and find her. At least not right now. He needed to eat and find a cave to rest in until his wounds healed and his armor regenerated.

" **Enough is enough. We need to take mother down and soon.** " Ares said to himself with a growl.

* * *

And that's all for this chapter! Thanks for reading and I'll see you guys next time! :)


	9. Scourge of the Broodmother Finale

Hello my peeps. There's nothing much to say except I've brought another chapter for you to enjoy except this chapter was written before Evolve Stage 2 came out. So...enjoy!

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Ares was taking shelter in the caves of the area that the humans called Weather Control. He stepped into the water and started to wash the blood off of his body. He winced as the water touched his wounds. The Goliath hadn't eaten anything for several hours since the attack by the magma-skinned Wraith and Goliath army. As he cleaned himself, he tried coming up with a plan to deal with his mother but it was pointless if he didn't know where she was. Atlas said that she lives in a different dimension but how would he be able to get there?

' _ **Ares, are you alright?**_ ' Atlas asked through the Mind Hive and Ares felt relieved. He had feared that the Behemoth would succumb to the Wraith and Goliath army.

' _ **I'm fine. A few injuries but I will heal once I eat.**_ ' Ares thought.

' _ **That's good. We must gather the humans and take down our mother once and for all.**_ '

' _ **If we are talking in the Mind Hive then she already knows.**_ '

' _ **Indeed but I can't really talk to you face to face obviously.**_ ' Ares chuckled.

' _ **True, but how are we going to get to her?**_ '

' _ **There is a way but I will avoid telling you through the Mind Hive.**_ ' Ares nodded. ' _ **Meet me at my pack's hideout, I'll send some of the pack to escort the humans.**_ '

' _ **Is that wise?**_ ' Atlas snorted.

' _ **My pack can take care of themselves and if the humans want to help then they'll listen and come join us.**_ '

' _ **If you say so.**_ ' Ares said and the connection was cut. Ares moved out of the tunnels and started searching for food.

* * *

Meanwhile, the creature known as 'Mother' to both Ares and Atlas was fuming. She had nearly converted Ares to her side but both Atlas and the humans interfered. The creature glanced at all of her eggs that she had recently laid and opened another portal for the eggs to teleport to Shear. She watched them land and her eyes started glowing.

" **Now is the time for us to take back this planet. Hatch from your eggs and rejoin my other children. We shall erase all of humanity!** " The eggs that landed on Shear started to glow and cracks appeared in the armor. The monsters hatched and roared as they stepped onto the ground. " **Go forth my children. Kill every single human you find and do not let anyone get in your way!** " The Stage-One monsters roared as they marched forward to carry out their mother's command.

* * *

Ares returned to the caves in Weather Control when he sensed something strange. He lifted his head up from the strider he was eating and he took a few steps towards one of the openings to the cave. He slowly peeked his head out and his eyes widened. There was an army of grey-skinned Goliaths, Krakens, Wraiths, and Behemoths moving together and searching. This was his mother's doing. She has already made her move and now it was time for them. Ares retreated back into the cave. Majority of his wounds were healed but there was no time to continue eating. He moved towards another exit and leaped away.

Inside the caverns, Atlas waited alongside several of his packmates and the hunters. Most of the hunters were standing as far away from the other monsters as possible while Caira, Parnell, Sunny, and Cabot didn't mind standing next to Atlas and his pack. Then Atlas looked up and saw Ares enter the cavern. Caira smiled brightly once she saw her Goliath friend. Ares saw her as well and ran over to her on all fours. The medic petted his head and his tail wagged happily.

"I'm so glad you're okay Ares." Caira said and Ares nuzzled into her hand. Sunny was also petting him but the Goliath didn't mind.

"Now that Ares is here, you said you had a plan to stop this infestation." Cabot said to Atlas and a few monsters growled. Atlas nodded and he gestured behind him. Five Stage-Three Wraiths with a variety of scale colors and patterns moved towards them.

"What plan is this?" Slim asked.

" **Wraiths have the ability to use inter-dimensional travel whenever they want. While within beings like myself, Ares, and Krakens it's passive but Wraiths can activate it manually. That's how they can warp around the environment as they please. We are going to use the concentrated power of these Wraiths to warp you humans to the lair of our mother.** " Atlas said and the hunters were shocked.

"Are you serious?" Val asked.

" **You humans have already made a few of those teleport gates so it is possible to extend the reach. Anyway, unless you can create a way to cross dimensions to use on your ship in time then this plan is the next best thing.** " Atlas said. Then the ground shook slightly and the monsters looked towards the ceiling. The Behemoth leader lightly growled at a Stage-Two Kraken and the lightning beast glided through the giant hole in the ceiling.

"What's going on?" Sunny asked.

" **Atlas sent a Kraken to scout the area for whatever caused that slight tremor.** " Ares said and he turned to Atlas. " **It may be the army that mother sent after us.** "

"Another one?! Fucking hell." Abe said. Then the Kraken suddenly fell through the giant hole and crashed to the ground. It was covered in burn marks and Atlas rushed over to it.

" **We're running out of time. Humans, gather together and the Wraiths will warp you to our mother's dimension.** " Atlas said.

"Will we even warp there? We might be taken to the wrong place and become stranded." Bucket said and Caira thought for a minute.

"Well she has to teleport the eggs here so the energy signature that she gives off when doing so could act like a GPS to her location if the Wraiths can pinpoint it." Caira said and one of the Wraiths nodded.

" **We can. There is a rift, a tear in the dimension where she is that we can sense.** " A jellyfish-skinned Wraith said. " **We'll lock onto it and warp you humans there. The only thing we do know is that she's not a Wraith, otherwise she would not need the rift.** "

" **My apologies but you must get going.** " Atlas said.

"For once I agree with this big fucker." Hyde said. "Let's get a fuckin' move on."

"Wait, Ares you're not coming with us?" Caira asked and Ares looked at Atlas.

" **Teleporting a Goliath along with a big group of humans an unknown distance will put a big amount of strain on the Wraiths.** " Atlas said but he gestured for two more Stage-Two Wraiths to join them. " **If Ares is going as well then more Wraiths will be required due to his mass.** "

" **Did you just call me overweight?** " Ares asked and Sunny and Caira laughed. The savage-skin moved over to the hunters and the Wraiths surrounded them. The tremors grew and the wendigo-skinned Kraken walked over.

" **Elder One, the army moves closer to our location. We must hurry.** " The Kraken said and the Behemoth nodded.

" **Indeed.** " Then Atlas turned to Cabot. " **We'll start whenever you're ready.** "

"We're ready." Cabot said after the other hunters checked their weapons. Atlas signaled for the Wraiths to begin. They started warping around around the group and began to pick up speed. The white and pink energies flowing from them grew in power and moved smoothly amongst them. The other monsters heard heavy footsteps and a few grey-skinned Goliaths jumped into the cavern from the hole.

"Ah shit." Hank said. Atlas moved in front of them but out of the way of the Wraiths and put up a Rock Wall.

" **Don't move from that spot human. My pack will protect you.** " Atlas said and he roared for his pack to defend the humans and Wraiths. The hunters and Goliath could feel the energy charge up as it covered their bodies and it was almost ready to burst. The Wraiths screeched and bright lights blinded the group and there was just the stillness.

* * *

The hunters and Goliath opened their eyes to see that they were inside a huge cave and the sky outside was a deep red. There was green webbing covering the walls and ceiling and behind them the rift closed.

"I can't believe we actually made it here. " Maggie said.

"Something wrong Ares?" Caira asked when she noticed the Goliath's eyes glowing and he started growling. Daisy sensed it too and growled as well.

" **She is here.** " Ares said.

" **So finally the humans have decided to intrude upon my home.** " a slightly scratchy female voice said. " **Along with one of my traitorous sons.** "

"Show yourself monster!" Torvald shouted and the voice chuckled.

" **I see one of the humans is eager to die. However, now that you are here, there is nowhere for you to run. All of you are now stuck here inside my web.** " Everyone heard something big drop behind them and once they turned around, their eyes widened. There was a huge spider-like creature with long thin hairs covering all eight of her legs. Thin spikes covered her abdomen and the ends of both of her hands and legs were colored green. She had a green and yellow mane from her head down to the middle of her back and a horn-like crest resting right above her four eyes. Finally, there were thin green plates that protected her chest and under her abdomen.

"What the fuck is that?!" Abe shouted and her black eyes glanced at him.

" **I am what you humans named my kind as Gorgon but I'm stronger and faster than the others. I am the original Gorgon that your kind created centuries ago. I guess you might call me Broodmother Gorgon now.** "

" **Centuries? The memories I received from a few humans-** " The Gorgon cut Ares off.

" **I highly doubt those humans you fed upon live as long as he do. Most likely they watched something called a recording and the memory of it was kept in their blood.** "

"Enough talk! It's time for you to die beast!" Torvald shouted and the Gorgon glared at him but grinned soon after.

" **Let us see if you can human.** " The Gorgon said and she shot her Acid Blast at them. The hunters dodged using their jetpacks and Ares leaped out of the way.

"Be careful team, we don't know know what this creature is capable of." Cabot said as he took out his railgun. The hunters started shooting and Ares used his Fire Breath. The Gorgon dodged most of them by jumping back and forth from wall to wall. The only attack that landed was Markov's lightning gun. Abe threw some stasis grenades and they slowed her down. Hyde laughed as he ran over and sprayed the monster with his flamethrower. She poked her head out from the flames and smacked him into a wall. Slim sent his healing drone over to him and the Gorgon shot her green Web Net at it. Ares jumped in between the two and threw a large rock at the attack.

"The fuck you doing protecting me Goliath?" Hyde asked and Ares glanced at him.

" **You are Caira's comrade. I may not like you, but that does not mean I will not help you.** " Ares said and Hyde stared at him.

"Come Ares! To battle!" Markov shouted as he raced towards the Gorgon with Parnell. Ares roared and followed the two assaults. Hyde picked himself up and chased after them with Torvald. The Gorgon shot a large Spiderling at the hunters behind them. She retreated into the shadows and a acidic green puppet lunged at them. The assaults and Goliath took the hit and yelled as the acid burned through skin and armor.

" **You dare to fight with these humans who do not deserve it?** " The Gorgon asked as she reappeared.

" **That is of no concern to you.** " Ares said as he growled from the stinging pain of the acid. Then a napalm grenade launched over his head and his mother screeched as she was hit directly in the face. Everyone turned to Caira in surprise.

"I uh, did not expect that to be a direct hit." Caira said and Hyde laughed.

"Nice shot." Hyde praised with a thumbs-up gesture and the Gorgon snarled. She smacked all four of the assaults into a few of the hunters and slammed Ares to the ground with two of her hands on his neck. After the other hunters finished of the minion, she shot a Web Net at them. The webbing hit Daisy, Hank, Crow, and Abe. Ares grabbed his mother's arms and shot his Fire Breath at her. She screeched at the sudden attack and released her grip on him. Val and Lazarus shot her with their sniper rifles and a few damage amp markers appeared on her body. Cabot took out his damage amplifier and the beam landed on her body.

"Weapons live people!" Cabot commanded but the Gorgon jumped back into the shadows and another acidic puppet lunged at them. All the assaults shot at it at once and it exploded. Acid went flying everywhere and they activated their shields before the acid hit them.

"You would think all of us firing at this thing would kill it by now." Griffin said. Ares and Daisy heard scratching along the cave ceiling and a Web Net hit Maggie, Slim, Bucket, and Griffin. Ares charged at his mother and grabbed her arms once she jumped down. The Gorgon just shot her Acid Blast and the Goliath roared in pain. Then he punched her and she hit the wall. Hyde and Markov moved in and they shot her with the minigun and assault rifle respectively. She hissed in pain and jumped onto the ceiling.

"Oh no you don't!" Parnell shouted as he shot his rocket launcher at her and smiled when blood poured from her newly inflicted wounds. Then she glared at Ares.

" **You would doom our entire race by killing me? Once I am gone, the future of our race is sealed.** " The Gorgon said and Ares was silent. She did make a good point and he didn't want to be responsible for such a monumental thing like paving the way to his race's extinction. He watched the other hunters run in with weapons ablaze.

Sunny shot a grenade at the Gorgon's face and she hissed in anger. Blood was pouring at a faster pace from all the attacks the hunters landed on her and her eyes focused on the medic that was named Caira. She was the very same human who took her son's loyalty away from her. If it wasn't for that weak human then this wouldn't have happened! She leaped over the other hunters and lunged at Caira. The Goliath should be back under her control once she was dead. At least that's what she thought until she heard a snarl of rage and was suddenly body slammed into a wall. The Gorgon spat out her own blood and her eyes made contact with Ares, who had her pinned. His eyes were glowing again.

" **What is it about that human Goliath?! What makes her so special that you would turn against your own mother?!** " The Gorgon shouted but Hyde jumped in and used his flamethrower before Ares could answer. He backed away to avoid getting hit by Hyde. That was also something that made Ares stop and think but he didn't have an answer. Then he closed his eyes and took a breath. The Goliath reopened them and stared at Caira who was helping Slim, Val, and Lazarus heal the team. He didn't know why she was so special to him but another thought worked its way to the forefront of his mind. There doesn't have to have to be a reason. There was a bond between them but that was all the explanation that was needed. The Gorgon dropped to the ground with a lot of blood pooling under her. She was at quite the disadvantage without her children.

"It's almost dead!" Torvald shouted with a grin and the Gorgon growled at him.

" **No, it is not over yet.** " The Gorgon said and her body started to spasm, mostly in her abdomen. Then she shrieked as it burst open and tons of small Spiderlings poured out. They surrounded their mother and screeched at their human enemies.

"You gotta be FUCKING KIDDING ME!" Abe shouted.

"Holy shit!" Hank shouted.

"You just _had_ to jinx us Torvald." Val said and Torvald glared at her.

"Any one got a plan?" Slim asked.

"Don't die?" Griffin suggested and Slim sighed.

"I honestly expected her to birth more monsters." Bucket said.

"I would recommend not giving the monster any ideas robot." Lazarus said. The Gorgon roared and the spiderlings charged towards them. Ares shot his Fire Breath at them. Hyde followed it up with his flamethrower and so did Caira with the napalm grenades. The Gorgon lunged at Slim, Sunny, and Hank but Torvald's mortars landed right on her back and she shrieked in pain before collapsing on the ground with a loud crash. She coughed out blood and watched as the rest of her spiderlings were killed. Ares jumped and landed a Leap Smash, killing the last of the spiderlings.

' _This is not over my traitorous son._ ' Ares heard his mother say through the Mind Hive and looked at her. ' _You and these humans may have doomed our race to extinction but it will not end here. Upon slaying me, my siblings will take over. They will see to the deaths of all of you in my place.'_

' ** _Siblings? Who are they?_** ' Ares asked but his mother didn't say anything and he watched Torvald step on her neck. Then he finished her off with his shotgun to her head.

"Fucking finally." Hyde said as he put his flamethrower away. Everyone else followed his lead and sheathed their weapons.

"I could go for some shut-eye right now." Abe said and the dimensional rift started to glow a pink and black color as it slowly opened.

"Looks like our ride's here." Val said and Caira noticed that Ares didn't move. He just stood there staring at his mother's corpse as her red blood turned black. Her last words bothered him greatly and he wondered if what she said was true. If it was then where are these siblings of hers? If her death awakens them then Caira was in grave danger. He looked her way and made eye contact with her.

"Are you okay Ares?" Caira asked but Ares continued to just stare at her. She didn't know what was going on in the Goliath's mind to make him freeze like this.

Meanwhile, Ares was thinking back to all the times Caira could've been killed. The Kraken, Wraith, acid pools, an army of his kind twice, the magma-skinned Wraith, his mother, and even himself. Despite being strong, humans were also fragile creatures. They can't take fire or acid like he could. Ares had armor, scales, plates, spikes, and thick muscle for protection. He also had claws, fangs, strength, and he could even breathe fire to defend himself. However, if Caira's grenade launcher were taken away then she would be utterly helpless. The female human was very smart, no doubt about that, but how long could she outsmart one of his kind that was determined to kill her? That familiar feeling of fear started to well up. The fear of losing her. Then Ares shook his head.

' ** _No, I will not tell Caira about what mother told me. I will not have her get involved any further. I_ will _protect her._** ' Ares' eyes glowed in response to his resolve and then he noticed Caira waving a hand in his face.

"Helloooo. You okay Ares?" Caira asked and the Goliath snorted out black smoke.

" **I am fine. It is just strange not having a mother anymore.** " Ares said.

"Yeah I understand. I'll be here for you Ares." Caira smiled as she said that and the fire beast's eyes ceased glowing.

' **I know Caira, and I will make sure of that.** ' Ares thought as the two finally went through the rift.

* * *

Elsewhere in an unknown location on Shear, a large blue eye slowly opened. It took a few minutes to yawn and stretch its limbs.

" **The connection with our little sister has been severed.** " The creature said and a purple glowing figure morphed out of the shadows. Its glowing scythes were folded at its side.

" **She must be dead then.** " A seductive female voice said. Then two glowing blue eyes opened and small blue flames burst from its mouth.

" **She was the weakest out of all of us I'm surprised she lasted this long.** " The blue creature said and six glowing brown eyes opened.

" **However, the fact that the humans defeated her is still a feat in of itself.** " Then the one-eyed creature spoke.

" **The humans have grown stronger and this can't be allowed to stand any longer. It is time that we step in and finish what our fallen sister has started.** " Then red lightning started sparking all over its body and its eye glowed brighter in the darkness.

* * *

And that's the end. Read and Review!


	10. Always

Is it just me or has evolve stage two gotten a bit more boring than the og evolve? Hunt mode doesn't really feel like hunt since it's so easy to find the monster but I digress. Anyway, enjoy!

* * *

The hunters and Ares had returned to the ship after being escorted by some members of Atlas' pack. The Wraiths had combined the energies from their Abduction to pull everyone back to their dimension. They had collapsed from exhaustion afterwards. Ares put the thoughts of the battle in the back of his mind for now and just continued to relax with Caira. They were currently sitting by the lake at Weather Control. Caira was laying against Ares with her bare feet in the water. The Goliath had his body curled around her and he glanced around; making sure there wasn't any danger lurking around.

Caira noticed that Ares had grown more protective over her after the battle with the Broodmother Gorgon. Everywhere she went outside the ship, he wanted to go with her. The tension between Ares and Torvald had grown as well. So much so that every meeting almost ended in an all out brawl between the two. Even fighting side by side against a bigger threat did little to calm it. Caira knew that Ares wouldn't kill Torvald with her around but if he pushed the Goliath over the edge then even she might not be able to stop him.

"Ares." The Goliath sighed at the tone the medic used.

" **You want to talk to me about that human right?** " Caira looked at him and Ares laid his head down on his arms. " **He is the one who starts it. I would be fine with both of us ignoring each other."**

"At least try to tone it down a bit." Ares didn't say anything and just stared at the waves on the water. Before Caira could say anything else, her communicator buzzed.

" _Caira, the higher-ups are here for Ares._ " Cabot said.

"Alright boss." Caira said and she hung up. Then she moved to put her shoes back on. "Come on Ares, it's time to go back."

Ares stood up and stretched before he followed Caira away from the lake. However, the Goliath wasn't stupid. The medic's demeanor had changed a little and he could sense that something was off. Was she in trouble or something? Hopefully it wasn't because of him. Ares spent the rest of the journey thinking about what it could be until they came across the rest of the hunters but they weren't alone. There were a large number of Ebonstar soldiers along with the same three people in business suits that had visited once before.

"Miss Diaz, thank you for looking after this Goliath. Now it's time to take it into our custody." Charles said and Ares snarled. Like hell he would let them take him away from Caira without a fight.

" **I am not going anywhere with you!** " Ares growled and the Ebonstar soldiers gasped at hearing the fire beast talk.

"I'm afraid you have no choice in the matter." Charles said as he snapped his fingers. Several soldiers shot harpoons into his body and Ares roared in anger.

"Hey, hold on!" Caira shouted but a couple soldiers moved her out of the way. That angered the Goliath even more. Suddenly electricity flowed into the harpoons and Ares roared in pain. He yanked his arm towards his body, causing one of the soldiers to get pulled towards him. He grabbed the soldier and slammed him into the ground. Before Ares could attack the other soldiers, he heard weapons being cocked. He turned to see that they weren't being pointed at him, but at Caira.

"Whoa whoa, what the fuck are you guys doing?" Abe asked.

"Just our job Mr. Abraham." Stephanie said.

"Cooperate Goliath and Miss Diaz will not be harmed." Kyle said and Ares growled dangerously.

" **You would not dare.** " Charles moved closer to Caira.

"Maybe, maybe not. Would you like to make a gamble?"

"Okay hold on guys-" Parnell was interrupted as a few soldiers aimed their guns at him.

"What the fuck is this shit?!" Slim shouted. The hunters were surrounded by Ebonstar soldiers.

"Alright, hands off!" Caira struggled under the grip of the soldiers, only to get forced to the ground.

"Hey what the hell are you doing?!" Val shouted and Ares let out a loud enraged roar.

' _ **They touched her. They hurt her. Kill them. KILL THEM ALL!**_ ' That thought replayed over and over in Ares' head and he trampled over a few soldiers; crushing them to death. He backhanded a few of them into a couple large rocks and slashed a few more in half with his claws. He was about to use his Fire Breath but stopped in his tracks when he saw more guns aimed at Caira.

"Enough! Just come with us and we shall release Caira safely." Charles said and Ares stared at the medic for a moment. If these humans were bold enough to hurt her then they most likely would kill her. The Goliath couldn't risk it and these damned humans knew it. If he was a Wraith then he could probably kill them before they shot her but he wasn't one. Ares had no choice.

" **Fine. I will go with you.** " Ares said and dropped down to all fours.

"Ares.." Caira trailed off as she watched the soldiers hook chains around her friend.

"You _are_ smart." Kyle said and Ares growled but followed them into the transport ship. The soldeirs released Caira and Parnell helped her up.

"My apologies for the roughhousing, we needed to convince it." Charles said.

"Where are you taking him?" Caira asked with a glare.

"No need to worry Miss Diaz. You can still visit him but not right now." Charles entered the ship with everyone else in his crew and the ship took off. Caira shook off Parnell's hand and walked back into the Laurie-Anne. No one dared to say anything to her; not even Hyde or Torvald.

* * *

Ares' throat badly burned and cracked as he let out another pain filled roar. He had been subjected to countless experiments that weren't exactly gentle. They had used so many different types of bullets, poison, and electricity to get the results on what weapons would be more effective against him. The Goliath had shown a high tolerance for fire so they had discarded incendiary ammo. The worst part was that they didn't feed him very often and when they did, it could barely even be counted as a snack for his size. He couldn't heal much of his wounds with such a small amount as well. After a full day of tests, the soldiers moved the Goliath into his own prison cell. It was barren and dim with reinforced glass in the front and sides. Charles approached the glass and stared. Ares was laying on his stomach with several wounds on his back and arms.

"An anomaly like you will help humanity ten-fold in the near future." Charles said and Ares weakly growled. He slowly stood on his two legs and towered above the human.

" **I do not care at all for your species as a whole human. Why do you need me?** " Ares asked.

"I already told you. For the advancement of humanity. The power that you monsters wield will be used for our benefit."

" **You already have humans strong enough to kill my kind.** " Charles chuckled and Ares narrowed his eyes.

"True, but that's not why we need you."

" **Then why?** "

"You don't need to know any specifics." Ares snarled and banged his fists against the glass.

" **What I do need to know if if Caira is alright as per our deal. I swear, if your pack hurt her while I am here-** "

"Don't worry. She's fine." Ares took his hands of the glass.

* * *

The next day, Caira and a few other hunters made it to the research facility that Charles owned. There were scientists running back and forth carrying a large amount of files and blood samples that most likely belonged to Ares. The security guards appeared and gestured for the hunters to follow them. Cabot, Parnell, and Maggie went with her to where Ares was contained. As soon as the doors opened, they were greeted to a terrible sight. There was Ares, covered in several grievous wounds and laying on his side. There were many bullet holes and burns littered all over his body. Blood ran down his arms, stomach, and back, some of his spikes were chopped in half, and he was breathing weakly.

"Ares!" Caira shouted as she raced over to the glass. Cabot and Parnell stared wide-eyed at the poor condition that the savage-skin was in. Even Maggie looked a bit concerned. Caira couldn't help but blame everything that happened on herself. Sure, Cabot was the one who alerted the higher-ups about Ares' existence. Yes, they were betrayed by the people they worked for. However, the young medic felt it was her fault. If she hadn't told Cabot, if she had just kept Ares a secret, then none of this would have happened. Those thoughts circled in her head like vultures as she blankly stared at the still form of her Goliath through the thick bulletproof glass. The Goliath hadn't moved since they arrived and tears welled in her brown eyes. Ares was so close but the glass kept them so far apart. "I'm so sorry Ares."

Ares' eyes opened slowly in response to the pain in her voice at seeing him in such a state. His half-lidded red orbs made contact with hers. He must've heard her despite it being a whisper. Caira watched as the fire beast's eyes watered and her eyes widened with worry when she saw him look at her. She desperately placed her hand on the glass in a knowingly futile attempt to touch him; to comfort him. Ares continued to stare and his entire body hurt. His head was pounding like crazy and his vision was a little blurry but he could make out Caira's form. Her eyes. He could feel something that was there just by looking at her eyes. He felt water leak from his own and Caira's started to match his. He couldn't blame her for this, though a small part of him wanted to. Maybe the blame should be on him. Was it for trusting her? Or maybe it was for wanting to be with her. Seeing those eyes though, those eyes full of hurt and sadness for him made the cracks in his heart grow. It hurt to see her like this but he didn't even have the energy to move right now. His throat was parched and very sore but he tried to speak anyway. Anything to ease the pain that his human was feeling. Yes, his human.

" **You look so distressed Caira. Please, do not cry.** " Ares said and the medic wiped her eyes a little.

"I'm sorry Ares. This is my fault." Caira said and more tears escaped. "I..I never wanted any of this to happen."

" **I know.** " Caira was surprised that he said that. " **You would not be in so much pain and leaking tears if you did.** "

"How did you-?" Ares blinked. He didn't understand it too well himself but he could feel her emotions as clearly as if they were his own. He wanted to chase her pain away. He wouldn't mind enduring all this torture if it meant keeping Caira safe from harm.

" **I do not know. I can sense your emotions. It hurts me as well. I..can not bear to see you like this.** " Caira's fist clenched at the Goliath's words.

"Do you think _I_ can bear to see _you_ like this?!" Ares was taken aback by his friend's sudden outburst. Then she lowered her voice. "I don't want to see you so broken and beaten. To watch you suffer while knowing that there's nothing I can do to help. I caused this. I trusted the wrong people and you ended up here as a result."

" **Caira, do not say such a thing. You are not to blame.** " Caira took off her cap and pressed her head against the glass. Her black bangs covered her eyes but Ares heard more tears drip on the floor at a slightly faster pace. He also noticed that her hair wasn't in the usual pig tails anymore. It was completely down and draped loosely down her shoulders and upper back like a curtain. Then Caira heard something touch the glass. She looked up and saw that Ares had pressed one of his clawed hands against it. " **I willingly gave myself up to protect you. You only wanted to help me and I am grateful for that.** "

"I-I'm surprised you don't hate me." Ares snorted weakly.

" **I could never hate you. You mean the world to me.** " Caira softly smiled and pressed her hand on the glass where the Goliath had placed his. The size relation was staggering but both parties didn't mind. They could feel their bond through the obstacle. Ares returned her smile as much as his face would allow and purred in content. The medic felt the same way. He was definitely important to her. He was her dearest friend. " **Do not cry anymore.** "

"Sure." Ares slowly dropped his hand and closed his eyes. He was so tired but he couldn't die. He refused to die and leave his important person at the mercy of these monstrous humans. The savage-skinned Goliath needed to protect her no matter what.

Caira looked on as her hand remained on the glass. She saw that Ares was still breathing though it was barely noticeable. She wanted to be in there with him but knew it wasn't possible right now. This was as close as she was allowed to get. Daisy walked over and licked Caira's hand. She smiled a little and petted Daisy's head.

"You know Maggie, this kind of reminds me of you and Daisy." Cabot said in a lowered voice.

"And how exactly does it remind you of us?" Maggie asked.

"Of course they haven't known each other or have been through the same amount of things you and Daisy have gone through but, look at them." Cabot said and Maggie looked at Caira and Ares. When she saw the Goliath place his hand where Caira's was earlier, her eyes had widened a little. She could see that the fire beast really felt the same way that the medic did. She was his friend and he wanted to be with her.

"Do you see it Mags?" Parnell asked.

"Yeah, I guess so." Maggie said.

"I'll get you out of there Ares, I promise." Caira whispered.

"Time's up hunters." One of the guards said and Caira removed her hand from the glass. Once they left the room, Cabot turned to her.

"So Caira, what do you plan to do about this?" Cabot asked as Caira wiped the rest of her tears from her eyes.

"Boss, did you just indirectly give me permission to rescue Ares?" Caira asked.

"You do know that this will put us in a bad situation with the higher-ups." Maggie said.

"I'm well aware." Cabot said. "But, helping a friend is more important."

"Thanks Cabot." Caira said.

"So, what do you wanna do?" Parnell asked and Caira came up with an idea.

* * *

Atlas gave one of the exhausted Wraiths some water as she rested. Now that their mother was dead, they will go extinct as a species since no one else could reproduce. The Behemoth wondered if it was truly the right thing to kill her. Yes, he would rather not be a mindless servant of hers but now they were all in danger. Atlas sighed as he left the Wraith's cave home and made his way back across the bridge until he caught the scent of someone familiar. He turned to see Caira flying over on her jetpack.

" **Caira, what brings you here?** " Atlas asked.

"I need your help again Atlas." Caira said and the Behemoth tilted his head slightly.

" **What's wrong?** "

"Ares is in trouble and I need you to help me rescue him." Caira told him the situation and Atlas thought for a minute.

" **I don't think this is a good idea Elder One.** " The wendigo-skinned Kraken said. " **This could put our whole pack in serious trouble over a single Goliath if we do decide to help.** "

" **But this is our chance to strike back at the humans.** " A poison frog skinned Goliath said as he approached them. " **This won't happen again for a long time, let alone with the human hunters willing to assist us.** "

" **And risk more lives?!** " The Kraken shouted.

" **We can't keep hiding like this forever Kraken! It's time we went on the attack, as a true pack!** " The Goliath shouted back.

" **Enough!** " Atlas shouted. Both the Goliath and Kraken backed off and the Behemoth mulled it over in his head. " **While I do agree that risking the lives of our pack is something that I wouldn't allow, the Goliath has a point. Very well Caira, myself and a few other members will join you in saving Ares. However a few of our Wraiths are still too weak to fight so the rest will stay behind."**

"That's fine with me." Caira said with a smile. Then Atlas turned to the other two monsters.

" **Is that acceptable to you both?** " The Goliath and Kraken nodded. " **Now then, it's time to launch a rescue.** "

* * *

And end chapter! Read and Review and I'll see you guys next time!


	11. The Best Things in Life are Free

I'm surprised by how many of you guys actually want this to be a romance story XD. I'm not opposed to it, especially since I'm a huge sucker for the whole forbidden love angle. However, what I'm not fond of is the whole Wailord-on-Skitty action and it doesn't appeal to me at all. So if that's what some of you are looking for then I'm afraid this may not be the story for you. If that doesn't matter to you then I definitely don't mind having their friendship evolve into love. Anyway, this is the final chapter for the main story but I will bring out the second expansion dealing with the alternate monsters. Hope you enjoy!

* * *

Charles entered one of the labs where a couple scientists were working on a special project for him. No one besides himself and these handful of scientists knew what was going on in this room and he preferred to keep it that way. It was for the future of mankind and he won't let anyone stop him from this breakthrough.

"Progress report." Charles commanded.

"The serum you requested is complete sir. The problem however is testing it to see if it's safe." A scientist said.

"Don't worry about that." They looked to him in confusion.

"But sir-"

"I said don't worry about it." Charles held his hand out and one of the scientists put the vial in it.

* * *

The hunters were checking over their weapons and passing around ammo as they prepared themselves for the upcoming battle. They were in the caverns of Atlas' home and Cabot was coordinating the plan of attack with Parnell and the Behemoth leader. Atlas was drawing out sketches of the plan in the soft dirt with the assault's direction. Some of the hunters were still apprehensive with working alongside the very monsters that they hunted on a daily basis, especially Torvald.

"This is ridiculous." Torvald said.

"Hey, don't be like that. We're here to save a friend." Sunny said and the cyborg scoffed.

"That beast is not our friend." Sunny sighed but said nothing else.

"And that's it, if everything goes well." Cabot said and Atlas nodded.

" **I heard from Caira that you humans are taking a big risk doing this for one of our own.** " Atlas said.

"Yes well, Ares is very important to her and he's been helpful with our hunting missions."

"He's been integrated into the team better then I thought he would. Though, a couple aren't so fond of him." Parnell said and Atlas snorted.

" **I expected as much.** " Atlas looked at some members of his pack and saw them move far away from the hunters. Some of them even growled as they passed by. The two that were coming on the mission just stood quietly behind their leader. " **It's the same for some members of my pack in regards to Caira.** "

"Will there be any _problems_?" Cabot asked and the Behemoth knew what he was insinuating.

" **As far as attacking her, no. I have made it quite clear to my pack that any harm towards her and yourselves will not be tolerated. The most they will do is growl at you.** " Both Cabot and Parnell nodded and Caira walked over.

"Are we ready?" Caira asked and the three males turned to her. Cabot looked at the rest of his team and saw that they were all lined up and ready. He looked at his monster allies and saw that they looked ready as well. Atlas nodded.

"We are." Cabot said and the medic nodded. "Alright, let's move team!"

* * *

Ares slowly opened his eyes and glanced around. He was within his cage after five hours of experimentation, or at least it felt like five hours. His body felt like lead and his stomach raged with hunger. The small meals he was getting weren't cutting it and he had never felt so weak before. He could barely keep his eyes open. Not only that but he had no idea if Caira truly was safe. He wouldn't be surprised if they had attacked her while he was trapped here. He tried to gather his inner rage but the blazing inferno was nothing more than a small candle flame within his blood. The only thing he had the energy to do was breathe and maybe keep his eyes open but even that was starting to become a challenge. The Goliath hated feeling so weak. To his kind, if you're weak then you were either trampled on or dead. He meant what he said to Caira and the hope he had in his heart that she was alright made this situation somewhat bearable but it was still quite a blow to his pride. Ares closed his eyes and let the temporary peace and quiet of his break time lull him to sleep.

Until an alarm sounded.

"What's the situation" Charles asked.

"Intruders sir!" A guard said and cringed at the glare of his boss. "The intruders are-"

The guard was cut off when the doors flew off their hinges. Everyone turned their heads to see a Stage-Three Kraken slowly enter the room on all fours. Its neptune style scales reflected the artificial light as it snarled at the humans. Then a poison frog skinned Goliath at the same stage entered as well on all fours. Charles glared at the monsters and sprinted off towards the back of the facility. The Kraken lunged at them and the guards screamed. More rushed over only to get tackled by the Goliath. Ares was surprised at what was happening but he closed his eyes again. He needed to preserve his energy. Then the walls around the broken doorway burst and Atlas walked through with Caira and a few of the hunters. The medic hopped off the Behemoth's back and hurried over to the thick glass of Ares' cage.

"Ares!" Caira called out to him but the fire beast didn't respond. Then she turned to Atlas. "Atlas, can you break through the glass?"

" **Certainly.** " Atlas said and he moved towards the cage. He raised his huge fists and slammed them on the glass. Small cracks appeared and they quickly grew bigger as he continued to beat on it. He shielded Caira with his one hand and roared as his fist shattered the glass prison. The medic ran inside the cage.

"Ares? Wake up." Caira said softly as she petted his neck. The Goliath slowly opened his eyes and she smiled once they made contact with hers.

" **C-Caira.** "

"Don't worry big guy. We'll get you out of here."

" **I..I need..to feed.** " Ares said with his cracked and parched throat. Atlas overheard what the young Goliath said and bared his sharp fangs in a grin.

" **Don't worry Ares. I'll be back.** " Atlas said before he curled into a ball and rolled away.

"We'll go on ahead Caira. Meet us at the rendezvous point." Cabot said and the medic nodded. After several minutes, Atlas walked back and Caira winced at the large pile of human corpses. She moved out of the way as the Behemoth dropped the pile in front of Ares' face.

" **I understand how uncomfortable this is for you as a human but he will starve to death if this isn't done.** " Atlas said and Caira took a breath. Ares was staring at her as if he was asking her for permission. There was also something else in his red eyes.

Fear.

Ares was afraid, but why? Caira looked at him concerned until she realized why. He was afraid of what she would think of him. The medic smiled and petted his head. Then she hugged his neck.

"Don't worry about me Ares. Do what you need to." Caira said and Ares purred in content. She moved back and the Goliath immediately proceeded to eat. It was slow at first, but gradually picked up speed and soon loud growling escaped his throat as he ripped his food apart. His wounds let out some steam as he healed and his body started to glow red. The neptune skin Kraken reappeared and walked over on all fours while carrying more human corpses. He dropped them in front of Ares with Atlas' direction. The Goliath nodded in thanks and ate more. Once he finished, he let out a loud roar and the Kraken left to join the others. He turned to Caira and happily trotted over to her on all fours.

" **You came for me.** " Ares said and Caira giggled as she pet his head.

"Of course I did." The medic pressed her forehead against his. The savage skin looked at her with adoration and his tail wagged.

" **Come, we have to finish this mission.** " Atlas said.

In the basement of the facility, the hunters had Charles, Stephanie, Kyle, and a few other people. Charles was the only one among his group to not have a surprised look on his face. In fact, he looked more annoyed.

"My, here's something that I never thought could possibly happen. William Cabot and his hunters have teamed up with their prey to betray us." Charles said as he raised an eyebrow. "This is something that you would expect to see in a movie."

"Don't try to stall Charles. What's the _real_ reason you're experimenting on these monsters? The whole 'to learn more about them' bullshit won't fly here." Cabot said and Charles scoffed.

"That question is above your paygrade don't you think?" Markov took out his assault rifle. "Very well."

"Charles?" Stephanie had a confused look on her face as she called out to him.

"I had planned to use that Goliath of ours simply for the betterment of humanity. I wanted to build an army, but now...oh~" Charles grinned as he pulled out a syringe that was filled with a strange purple liquid. "Now, that's not enough. I want more. I _need_ more."

"What the fuck is that?" Parnell asked.

"And what the fuck are you talking about?" Abe asked. However, a scientist recognized what that serum was and her eyes widened.

"You can't be serious!" She shouted. "It's way too risky!"

"What the hell are you talking 'bout?" Hank asked.

"It doesn't matter." Charles said ominously as he brought the syringe closer to his neck. "I realized that the project wouldn't work without a suitable leader. I can't possibly control them with my limited human body, but after so many experiments with the talking Goliath, that problem has been solved."

"But it hasn't been tested! We have no idea what will happen or if it's even safe!" A male scientist shouted.

"We all must take risks." Charles said and he injected himself with the serum.

The effect was immediate.

Charles groaned in pain as his blood boiled. His eyes turned bloodshot and muscle spasms wracked throughout his body so badly that his veins visibly bulged. He screamed in pain in such an otherworldly tone that it chilled the others to the bone. Blood spurted out of his mouth and his skin turned a dark grey.

"What the fuck?!" Abe shouted.

The hair on Charles' head fell out and Kraken wings ripped through his shirt. Muscle packed onto his body as he grew taller and wider. He grew extra arms and they turned into Wraith scythes. His top set of arms were shaped like a Behemoth. His feet and head were shaping into a Goliath and he had a short Behemoth shaped tail with Wraith spikes on his back.

"Everyone, get out now!" Cabot shouted and everyone quickly made for the door. The hunters managed to make it out but the scientists weren't so lucky. Charles' big meaty fist slammed in front of the door.

"Charles? What are you doing?" Stephanie asked and her boss stared at her with glowing white eyes but remained silent until he lowered his head..

And clamped his jaws on her body.

The scientists gasped and shrieked in horror as Charles devoured her corpse like a simple snack. Then he lunged at Kyle and the others.

' ** _Raaaaaaaaaah!_** ' Ares and Atlas heard a strange and unfamiliar voice in the Mind Hive.

' ** _Atlas? What is that?_** ' Ares asked.

' ** _I don't know. The mind wave patterns are strange. His thoughts and feelings are so chaotic. There's no sense of stability. I'm getting tired trying to sift through it all._** '

"What's going on?" Caira asked when she noticed that the two monsters had stopped walking.

" **Someone new has joined the Mind Hive but it's odd. It's like trying to turn through radio stations but you just hear mostly static.** " Atlas said and an explosion cut their conversation short. Ares held Caira close to him as the building started to shake. The medic held onto his hand to keep her balance and the Goliath used his body to shield her from the falling rubble. A Kraken screeched and Atlas curled into a ball. He rolled through the openings in the walls and Ares followed while carrying Caira. Once outside, she gasped at the monstrosity before them. Ares lowered her to the ground and she rejoined the other hunters.

"What the hell happened?" Caira asked.

"Charles injected himself with whatever the contents were and got turned into that thing." Parnell said.

"Now we have to clean up after his stupid mistake." Torvald said.

"Yeah." Crow said. Then Atlas stood beside Cabot.

" **My pack and I stand with you, hunters.** " Atlas said and he let out a loud roar. The Goliath and Kraken charged forward while Markov hopped onto the back of Ares from his tail and gave a hearty laugh.

"To battle Ares!" Markov shouted and Ares roared as he used Charge to join the fight.

Unfortunately even though Charles fought with nothing but instinct to guide him, he was more than a fair opponent. He slashed the poison frog skinned Goliath on his chest and smacked the Kraken out of the air with one of his wings. Sunny and Val narrowly dodged a tail sweep. Slim used his wings to dodge another scythe swipe and Hyde used his flamethrower. Atlas shot a Lava Bomb and Ares shot his Fire Breath alongside Markov's lightning gun but Charles blocked all the attacks with his huge hands. Markov jumped off Ares' back and the Goliath leaped towards the chimera. A fist winded up and Charles roared as he punched the fire beast. The force sent Ares flying and he crashed through one of the facility's broken walls. Atlas rolled over but another fist slammed down on him hard and the Behemoth was forced to unroll as a result. The hunters continued to shoot at the chimera until it slammed both fists on the ground. Most of them stumbled from the tremors and Charles moved towards them until he was stopped by the other Goliath and the Kraken. Ares emerged from the rubble and snarled.

A Kraken leaped into the air just before Atlas' fist made contact with Charles' face in an uppercut. It knocked him back several feet and onto his back. A Goliath leaped onto the chimera only to get kicked back and knocked into the airborne Kraken. They both hit the ground near the hunters to split up. They continued to shoot as Ares and Atlas kept the chimera at bay. The savage skin roared in pain when he felt a scythe stab him in his side and Atlas was backhanded into the poison frog skinned Goliath. A hand grabbed Ares by the back of his head and slammed him into the ground. Atlas created a fissure and it raced towards Charles. The chimera threw Ares towards it and the Goliath roared in pain again as the attack hit his injuries.

"Ares!" Caira shouted but that caused Charles' head to snap towards her direction. He picked up Atlas and threw him towards her. The medic and the other hunters near her used their jetpacks to dodge. Then Charles charged towards them and knocked all four of the assaults out of his way. Caira shot a few of her healing grenades with the help of Val, Lazarus, and Slim using their healing abilities but Charles was knocking away and hitting more of the hunters by the minute which made their job harder. Parnell's super soldier serum wore off just as the chimera's tail smacked him into a wall. Caira flew over on her jetpack to him for her heal burst to be in range but also got smacked away except Charles used one of his scythes. She yelled in pain as her body hit the wall and she crumpled to the ground.

"Caira!" Hank shouted but he was suddenly grabbed by Charles and was thrown right into Slim. Ares smelled human blood and looked over in horror when Hank shouted Caira's name. Not only was the medic unconscious but she was also bleeding from the gash that formed from the scythe. Val and Lazarus were trying to get to her but the chimera was blocking them. For a moment, Ares just stared at Caira's still body and all the noise deafened.

Then Ares felt something in his head snap.

His eyes started glowing fiercely and his claws dug into the ground. His muscles tightened considerably and his rage escalated at an alarming rate. His blood was on fire and his body glowed.

Then he threw up his head and released an ear-splitting roar.

 _ **He hurt her! HE HURT HER! KILL HIM!**_

Black goo started to cover his body as it spasmed. Atlas looked at the young Goliath in shock. Ares was evolving! Rage, hatred, sadness, and fear were all the emotions that were present in his roar. The Behemoth ordered the other two members of his pack to keep Charles busy until the evolution finished. After a few more seconds, the black goo oozed off of the now Stage-Three Goliath and Atlas' eyes widened. The spikes on Ares' back were large like a normal stage three Goliath but more extravagant with its shapes. They curved like flames dancing in the wind and they even had actual fire coating them. They trailed along his collarbone and separated, only to curve around his thick neck and come back together once it reached his back. There were also flames that ran from the back of his head to join the others and the combined flames ended in a v-shape at the middle of his back. Fire also burned at the end of his tail, the back of his forearms, and outlined a couple of his markings on the sides of his abdomen. His claws started to glow brightly with heat and the hunters looked on in awe at Ares' final form. He had a dragon-like appearance but without the horns and wings.

"Holy. Fucking. Shit." Abe said.

Charles also took notice of the new Ares and Val took this time to run over to Caira. Slim had also sent one of his healing bugs over. Ares growled as he charged over and tackled the chimera to the ground. Punch after punch rained down on his face until a scythe impaled the Goliath in his side. Ares snarled but it wasn't in pain. His glowing red eyes blazed with anger and hatred for the abomination below him that he either couldn't feel his injury or didn't care enough to acknowledge it. Charles kicked Ares off of him and swung his fists in a downward motion. The Goliath rolled out of the way and used his tail to smack him in the head. It knocked the chimera off balance and he punched him back to the ground. As soon as he tried to get up, Ares landed a Leap Smash on him. He roared in pain and the savage-skin started clawing away at his face. Charles grabbed his wrists and impaled Ares again in his abdomen with both scythes. The fire beast coughed out blood but continued to struggle.

Atlas rolled over and grabbed the scythes once he unfurled his body. With one swift and strong motion, the Behemoth ripped the scythes from Charles' body. The chimera released his grip on Ares and Atlas removed the scythes from the Goliath's body. The fire beast moved back and covered his injuries with one hand. Then he looked back at Caira. She was still unconscious as Val healed her along with one of Slim's healing drones. The smell of her blood still hung in the air and it refueled his rage. His eyes started glowing again as his blood boiled. He turned his attention back to Charles and Atlas. The Behemoth landed a Lava Bomb and backhanded the chimera into a rock wall that he raised.

The hunters continued shooting and Charles roared in anger. He blindly charged towards them only to get tackled by Ares again. The Goliath landed a Fire Breath right on his face and the chimera flailed in panic as the flames burned away at his scales and flesh. Markov and Parnell flew over on their jetpacks and started shooting away at Charles' face as well. Then the chimera's huge fists knocked the two assaults away and pushed Ares off of him. Then Atlas grabbed Charles from behind by his arms and nodded to the savage-skin. The Goliath snarled loudly and impaled his claws straight through Charles' chest. Then he removed his hand and swiftly tore the chimera's head off. The body went limp and the blood turned black as life faded away. Atlas dropped the body and went over to check on his injured packmates. Ares turned around and hurried over to Caira. Val had finished healing her but she was still unconscious and Parnell picked her up.

"Don't worry Ares, Caira's still alive." Parnell said as he watched the Goliath gently nuzzle her face and whine. His wounds and armor started to regenerate. Then Atlas walked over.

" **Let Caira rest and recover Ares. Help me get the others home.** " Atlas said but Ares didn't say anything. Everyone could clearly see that Ares didn't want to leave her side. A Kraken looked over to them as the poison frog skinned Goliath helped him up.

" **Don't worry about us Elder One. We can make it back.** " The Kraken said and Atlas nodded.

" **Very well then.** " Atlas said and he turned to Cabot. His wounds had finally stopped bleeding and his armor started to regenerate. " **It's time I take my pack and leave for home.** "

"Thank you for your help Atlas." Cabot said.

" **You hunters are interesting. The events leading up to this point have shown that.** " Atlas watched the Goliath and Kraken leave and turned his attention back to the support. " **If you and your pack ever need assistance then please feel free to call on us again.** "

"Of course." Cabot held out a hand and the Behemoth gently grabbed it. A handshake that signified the newfound alliance between the hunters and Atlas' pack.

* * *

Caira woke up in her bed inside the Laurie-Anne. The last thing she remembered was fighting before everything turned black after she was hit by Charles. She got out of the bed and stretched before leaving.

"Hey, look who's awake now." Abe said with a smirk and Caira rolled her eyes.

"What happened while I was out?" Caira asked.

"We killed that batshit insane Charles guy. Though Atlas and Ares did most of the work." Abe saw the medic's eyes widen.

"Is Ares okay?"

"Oh, we're all fine Caira. Thanks for your concern." The medic rolled her eyes again at his sarcasm.

"Abe." The trapper chuckled.

"Yeah Ares is fine. He evolved." Caira's eyes widened.

"Really?!" Abe nodded.

"He looks much different than a normal Stage-Three Goliath."

"Where is he?" Abe pointed towards the exit.

"He's waiting for you outside. He hasn't moved from his spot ever since we brought you back to the ship."

"Thanks." Caira moved towards the door and saw Ares curled into a ball. He raised his head as he heard the doors open. His red eyes sparkled as he uncurled himself and raced over to her on all fours. He bent down and happily nuzzled her hands as she petted him. He purred and Caira giggled at the large amounts of affection she received from him.

" **I am so glad you are alright.** " Ares said as he continued to nuzzle her.

"Thanks Ares. I see you evolved again. You're an adult now." Caira said and the Goliath nodded as he stood up on his two feet. The young woman saw what Abe was talking about. Once he was standing upright, the flames on certain parts on his body burst to life. His stature gave off the aura of strength and power and Caira smiled. The fire beast dropped back down to four legs and the flames dispersed.

" **I am a man now.** " Caira burst out laughing and Ares wagged his tail.

"I guess so big guy." Ares watched the medic smile softly at him. "Are you alright Ares?"

" **I am. Abe and Parnell gathered some food for me while I waited here.** "

"Really?" Ares nodded.

" **I did not want to leave your side but I can no longer fit inside the ship so I waited out here for you. I did have a few wounds but the food I was given allowed me to heal**." Caira sighed in relief. " **I was more worried about you though.** "

"I'm fine." Ares looked her over for any more wounds that might've been missed just in case.

" **Are you sure?** " Caira nodded and Ares sat down. " **I..was really afraid that I had lost you. Rage is familiar to me but that level of intensity was something that I had not experienced before.** "

"Hey, it's okay Ares." The Goliath watched her move closer towards him and hug his abdomen. He wrapped a strong arm gently around her body and closed his eyes. He felt calm and at ease with Caira safe and alive by his side. She was his precious friend and he will never let her go.

* * *

There was a small group of four humans walking through the graveyard of human corpses both Ebonstar and civilian alike. They moved around the bodies as if they were insignificant rocks. Three of them were male with one female.

"How many of these people do we have to kill for these hunters to show themselves." A man with short navy blue hair asked. "Maybe our sister was weaker than we thought."

"Maybe so. After all, these other humans are laughably pathetic." A large bald man said with a deep baritone.

"They had help from a few of our kind." A woman with long dark pink hair said in a bored but seductive tone.

"Indeed." The last male with medium length dark grey hair said.

"Should we kill those traitorous mongrels?"

"No no, let's be diplomatic about this first. They might just simply be misguided and as the eldest of our kind, it's our duty to set them on the right path. There is one who has become quite attached to one of those hunters. Though it's less than ideal, we can possibly use that to our advantage."

"So what do you want to do?" The woman asked.

"We will finish what our sister started and take our planet back from the humans. However, we can try a less barbaric manner first. We'll make that Goliath an offer he can't refuse. If only to make things more entertaining for us."

"And if that doesn't work?" The bald man asked.

"Then we eliminate him. Simple as that." Red electricity sparked around the grey-haired man's body and his eyes glowed as he smirked.

* * *

And there you have it everyone. The rest will be continued in the new expansion coming soon. Let me know what you guys think. And here are Ares' stats as he reached stage three.

Fire Breath: 3 points

Leap Smash 3 points

Rock Throw: 2 points

Charge: 1 point


End file.
